Coronavirus pandemic
The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Workers protest at Instacart, Amazon and Whole Foods for health protections and hazard pay

Grocery store, delivery and warehouse workers have unprecedented leverage to demand better working conditions during the coronavirus pandemic because their labor has become essential for millions of Americans

By
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March 30, 2020 at 10:56 p.m. EDT
Jordan Flowers holds a sign at an Amazon building in the Staten Island borough of New York City on Monday. (Jeenah Moon/Reuters)

Millions of consumers are turning to Instacart, Amazon and Whole Foods as essential resources during the novel coronavirus pandemic, something that has given workers at those companies unprecedented leverage.

Now they are conducting walkouts, strikes and sickouts to demand hazard pay and safety protections that match what they say is the high risk they take in showing up to work.