Dear MoveOn member,
My name is Luis Torres. I work at the Empire State Building Chipotle in New York City, prepping, cooking, and serving food with my coworkers on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis, and I started a petition to demand Chipotle protect the health and safety of its workers and customers. My Chipotle coworkers and I understand that the same structural racism that put us at risk of policing policies is at play in how we are treated in the fast-food industry. As disproportionately Black and brown workers, we stand together in demanding that the corporation that we work for value our lives the way it should.
As essential workers, we are providing food for our communities, but many of us have to work without safety measures like enforced social distancing and proper personal protective equipment. On top of that, our hazard pay is insulting, and Chipotle plans to remove it imminently. As stores reopen and Chipotle workers come into contact with an influx of customers, we do not need less hazard pay, we need 50% more. If my coworkers and I were to contract COVID-19 on the job, we'd be in real trouble, because most of us do not have access to affordable, quality health care.
Chipotle workers have been raising the alarm over conditions that are putting both workers and customers at risk since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. In early March, dozens of Chipotle workers and our supporters protested to demand safer working conditions, because "if we work sick, then you get sick."1 Now we're asking you to demand change with us: Tell Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol to implement measures to keep us—Chipotle workers, customers, and all of our families—safe.
The health and safety of the customers we serve at Chipotle are directly tied to the health and safety of us, Chipotle workers. Chipotle is a company with a history of high-profile foodborne illness outbreaks that have sickened hundreds across the country over the last several years. In April, Chipotle agreed to pay a $25 million fine—the largest-ever fine in a food safety case—over incidents that included workers working sick after feeling pressured not to call out.2 We believe everyone has access to health care and safe working conditions—not just for Chipotle workers but for all.
The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the dangers of food service industry practices for essential workers and the public. We are calling on Chipotle to live up to its "food with integrity" slogan and protect its workers and customers.
Thanks!
–Luis Torres, NYC Chipotle worker
Sources:
1. "Chipotle Workers Demand Company Comply With Sick Leave Laws Amid COVID-19 Outbreak," Gothamist, March 6, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/137220?t=10&akid=265732%2E10220574%2EQCFkZd
2. "Chipotle agrees to record $25 million fine over tainted food," ABC News, April 21, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/137221?t=12&akid=265732%2E10220574%2EQCFkZd
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