Assemblywoman Kimberly Jean-Pierre (D-Babylon) announced that she has sent a letter to Stop & Shop CEO Gordon Reid urging him to reinstate the company’s hazard pay for their employees.

“Stop & Shop employees have been working diligently to provide Long Island families with essential goods despite the threat of exposure to a contagious and unprecedented virus,” Jean-Pierre said. “While we were pleased to hear that the company took steps to fairly compensate its workers, revoking these measures now is nonsensical. The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over and it’s imperative that Stop & Shop employees can continue to receive additional pay for working during a public health crisis. I’m proud to stand with the essential workers of Stop & Shop and I urge the company to reconsider its shortsighted decision.”

Assemblywoman Jean-Pierre circulated the letter, signed by many of her Assembly colleagues, after Stop & Shop announced they were discontinuing “appreciation pay” for their employees, even though the number of coronavirus cases nationwide continues to increase. In addition, the company hadn’t consulted with United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) or the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) before making the decision.^[1] Stop & Shop is one of many grocery chains that have discontinued hazard pay for their employees. Grocery store workers have supported our families during historically trying times and they deserve to be compensated accordingly, Jean-Pierre noted.

[1] boston.com/news/coronavirus/2020/07/17/elizabeth-warren-stop-and-shop-hazard-pay