Seattle extends measure to require additional pay for COVID-19 work. | Adobe Stock
Seattle extends measure to require additional pay for COVID-19 work. | Adobe Stock
City council members recently passed hazard pay for grocery store workers in Seattle in an 8-0 vote.
Grocery employees will see a $4 hourly pay increase during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Hazard pay for grocery workers is the least we can do to recognize the dangers they face when going to work, including unmasked customers, customers who are coughing and not respecting social distancing rules, and cleaning of commonly used surfaces, Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda said in a release. “Many grocery stores were paying their workers' hazard pay early on in the pandemic, but that recognition quickly went away last summer, despite grocery store workers still facing serious risk of contracting COVID-19 at their workplace. Grocery store workers are sacrificing their health to make sure shelves are stocked, but we should not treat grocery store workers as sacrificial."
The hazard pay will continue throughout the pandemic, but the Council may revisit the decision after four months.
"I applaud Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda's leadership and City Council's passage of Hazard Pay legislation for grocery store workers," Mayor Jenny Durkin said in the release. "A disproportionate number of people of color are essential workers, and Seattle can continue to lead the way to provide relief and respect for tens of thousands of grocery store workers. This additional pay is a strong step forward in Seattle's recovery."
In a study of 104 grocery employees in Boston, 20% of workers tested positive for COVID-19.
"It's been a year since COVID-19 was first identified in our communities. While many stayed home to stay healthy, grocery workers continued on the job, many with no additional compensation for the risk, to keep us fed and healthy," Council President M. Lorena González in the release. "With a new, more contagious strain of COVID-19 present in our area, this work becomes even more dangerous, not just to workers but their loved ones sharing a household. Hazard pay is the minimum we can do to support the sacrifices of working people during these times."
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