‘Every Day Is Frightening’: Working For Walmart Amid Covid-19 Fear
Walmart workers from all over the country have been sharing their fears about having to go back to work, and some of them are expressing themselves on the company’s app, where you can watch the company’s efforts.
John Bacon works in a Wal-Mart in San Martin, Virginia, and he’s been looking forward to getting back to some old routines, like shopping for his wife, who is pregnant with their son. But as soon as he’s back home in his small house, everything goes from normal to scary.
“You don’t know what’s going to happen,” Bacon says as he makes his way to pick his son up at school. “The last time I was here, I was in Walmart and I saw the first person die from coronavirus.”
Bacon has been working at the Walmart Supercenter in the nearby town of Martinsville for seven weeks, but he’s been on the store floor with his co-workers since mid-March.
The company says it has more than enough employees to provide for workers’ needs during the pandemic. But Bacon says he’s afraid to go back to work and that he wants to stay home to take care of his family.
Walmart has been doing a lot of testing and monitoring employees, but they aren’t allowed to work in stores and only come in as much as necessary. In response, the company has been offering free grocery delivery to its workers.
“I’m doing nothing but sitting down,” Bacon says as he waits for his groceries. “I don’t want to get sick. I don’t want to get a cold. I don’t want to get anything. We’ve been pretty lucky. So far, so good. I have to be careful.”
More stories about how working in a Walmart is far from normal
Walmart workers are also sharing their concerns on the company’s app, where you can also watch their work. You can see videos from workers as