After Kroger announced a change of policy regarding masks for fully vaccinated customers and employees, Kroger's union, the United Food and Commercial Workers released a statement cautioning against the "growing trend" of retailers ending mask mandates.
In the statement, UFCW asked Kroger and other retailers in the industry to "take action to reassure the public that the majority of those in stores will still wear masks to keep shoppers and workers safe given ongoing COVID risks," noting that there is still a large number of Americans who have not been fully vaccinated from the virus.
UFCW represents 1.3 million food and retail workers, including 65,000 in Ohio, according to its estimates, and is the union for workers at Kroger, CVS, Albertson's and Macy's, among others.
“America’s grocery workers are still facing daily COVID risks on the frontlines so that all our families can put food on the table as the pandemic continues," Marc Perrone, UFCW international president, said in a release. "These essential frontline workers have been forced to play mask police throughout the pandemic with many shoppers not following COVID safety standards. Now, they are being asked to be the vaccination police."
On Wednesday, Kroger joined other major retailers including Walmart, Target and Costco in allowing fully vaccinated customers and "most fully vaccinated" employees to no longer wear masks in facilities, including stores, distribution centers, plants and offices unless otherwise required by state or local jurisdictions.
Non-vaccinated employees and customers will still be required to wear a mask, the Cincinnati-based supermarket giant said. The new guidelines start Thursday.
According to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and USA TODAY analytics, about 47.9% of people in the U.S. have received at least one COVID-19 shot. About 37.8% of people are fully vaccinated.
More:Tracking COVID-19 vaccine distribution by state: How many people have been vaccinated in the US?
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