<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eltecolote.org\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Breakfast-Little_0275-2_web.jpg?resize=950%2C633&quality=89&ssl=1\")
On that day Andrew Perez, owner of Breakfast Little, a breakfast and brunch cafe in the Mission with a Mexican inspired menu, was having one of the most difficult conversations a small business owner can have.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was a little tough, to tell them, you know, you don\u2019t have a job anymore and there\u2019s not really anything that I can do for you,\u201d says Perez. \u201cAnd this was a hard thing because I just wasn\u2019t prepared for anything like this.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just a year and two months after opening his business, Perez had to close Breakfast Little, laying off all six of his employees in the process.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
13 days later the number of coronavirus cases surpassed 2,000 in the Bay and 7,000 for the state. Major retailers furlough employees, Instacart workers go on strike for hazard pay, and shelter in place orders are about to be extended. And this is when Perez is forced to re-open on his own.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not that I wanted to open up,\u201d he says. \u201cI had to open up. I was not going to get any sort of rent concession, and so it was like, I have to make rent\u2026 There just was no other option.\u201d As Perez set out to modify and run his shop during the increasing severity of the pandemic with little more than mixed messaging as guidance from officials, he looked to other sources for help.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eltecolote.org\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Breakfast-Little-2_web.jpg?resize=1150%2C767&quality=89&ssl=1\")
\u201cThis was me having to look at other countries\u2026. Like I said, this was pre-mask, so this was when they said don\u2019t wear masks. So this was kind of like, \u2018we [local government] don\u2019t know, so you figure it out, but you\u2019re essential so you can stay open if you want. But stay home also.\u2019 I had to do my own research\u2026 what am I willing to risk? Who\u2019s dying in my age group? I had to find that out for myself.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perez isn\u2019t alone in his experience.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kaitlyn and Doug, two employees of a well-known Bay Area grocery chain, agreed to speak with El Tecolote on the condition of anonymity. They expressed misgivings about how their company dealt with safety in the beginning of shelter-in-place.
Grocery stores tend to run understaffed, and this location was no different at the time. During the panic-purchasing phase of the crisis, customers came in droves, forming lines around the building.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was, as Kaitlyn put it, \u201ca crisis.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe couldn\u2019t keep up. So anyone that was there, in any department, they were told to drop what they were doing and \u2018let\u2019s get these people out of the store,\u2019\u201d Kaitlyn said.
These two essential workers explain that though store standards and policies have improved, initially when it came to employee safety, there was none.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI actually was the first one in my store to wear the N95 mask, before the company mandated it,\u201d Doug explained. \u201cI live with some family who really didn\u2019t want to catch this, so they begged me to wear the mask. I was kind of hesitant but I put it on and got a lot of weird looks from customers.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMost of the conversations I remember between management and coworkers were mostly things like how to keep the store running,\u201d Doug continued.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe main concern is I\u2019m going to go in here \u2026 and I\u2019m going to bring something home to my family,\u201d said Kaitlyn. \u201cI felt like if it\u2019s this serious, why do you have me working? Why is my life less valuable than the next person?\u2026We didn\u2019t really have the option, if we weren\u2019t comfortable or felt safe, to not work.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These feelings are echoed by many essential workers, including Perez. \u201cWho cared about the grocery store workers in the beginning?\u201d he said. \u201cThere were these huge campaigns thanking them and \u2018oh my God they\u2019re our heroes,\u2019 and it\u2019s like no, no they\u2019re not. Heroes get to make a choice.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis pandemic is showing more and more the inequalities in this country,\u201d Perez continued. \u201cWho\u2019s getting sick and who\u2019s dying? Who\u2019s being forced to be an essential worker? I don\u2019t have the luxury of working from home\u2026 more than half of us can\u2019t work from home. They kind of left the rest of us to fend for ourselves.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In May, a study by the Bay Area Equity Atlas counted 1.1 million essential workers in the region, accounting for 28 percent of the workforce, and they are predominantly Black, Latinx, Filipinx.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other side of that number are those who have the luxury of working from home. It is that side of the workforce that the governor and mayor have catered to from the beginning, when San Francisco, the Bay Area and the State closed.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So when Mayor London Breed said, \u201cyour garbage will be picked up\u2026 grocery stores and pharmacies and banks and gas stations will remain open, restaurants will remain open for take-out,\u201d she is speaking about the nearly one-third of workers spanning those industries, but she\u2019s not speaking to them.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is a failure in our system, to leave everybody at risk,\u201d says Perez.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, in light of California\u2019s stubborn push to re-open, some essential workers are feeling more expendible than exceptional. If the state is entering a second wave of infections, how will this time be any different from March?
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a recent interview with NPR, Dr. Anthony Fauci was asked about his efforts to persuade individuals about their societal responsibility. \u201cIt\u2019s such an important problem and people\u2019s lives depend on it,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s how you judge society, how do you care for your vulnerable?\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How might the Bay Area, and the state for that matter, care for its vulnerable, for the one-third?
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps ensuring that free daycare services are available for the children of grocery workers is as essential as for doctors and nurses.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s an oldie but a goodie; maybe the pay rate for these essential workers should reflect the sacrifice being made for the survival of their communities.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A policy could be adopted similar to France\u2019s \u201cright to withdraw,\u201d giving employees the right to walk off the job without punishment or docked wages if they believe their safety or health are at risk.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It could also be as simple as listening to workers themselves and responding to their needs.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI understand I have a job, and people need groceries and stuff\u2026 But if it\u2019s this dangerous, maybe we should think of a better protocol,\u201d said Kaitlyn. \u201cMaybe nobody comes in the store\u2026 we do their shopping for them.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Perez puts it, \u201cI am thankful for the work people have done, but it\u2019s not out of choice, it\u2019s out of necessity.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Currently the Bay Area is three and a half months into some version of a shelter order that has been extended multiple times from its original two week duration. With COVID-19 cases spiking once again, it\u2019s incumbent to remember the missteps of the beginning. March 16, 2020, the Dow Jones Industrial Average experiences its largest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":44657,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"coauthors":[18445],"class_list":["post-44656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-voices","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n