Grocery Store And Pharmacy Workers A Rallying For A State-Mandated Violence Prevention Plan For Their Workplaces

Topline:

At a rally outside a Rite Aid in Pasadena on Thursday, more than 50 grocery and pharmacy workers called on state lawmakers to approve Senate Bill 553, which would mandate employers to create a workplace safety plan.

“I need to feel that I'm safe there. I love my job, but I'm in fear," said Gloria Gutierrez, a worker at a Rite Aid in South Central. "You know, like every day I get up and I wonder, what's going to happen today? Am I going to be able to come home?”

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Gloria Gutierrez works at a Rite Aid in South Central. She worries often for her safety after hearing stories of what her other coworkers go through.

The workplace safety plan would include training on how to respond to an active-shooter and shoplifters, require employers to create a log of violent incidents, and help workers with filing a restraining order.

“ We have heard reports many times that the only person in the store that knew what to do when some crisis incident occurred was a 16- or 17-year-old because they had gotten active shooter training at school,” said Kathy Finn, president of UFCW Local 770.

Why it matters:
Earlier this month, a security guard at a Ralphs grocery store in Hollywood was struck with a fire extinguisher by a woman. She was also carrying a screwdriver. The attacker was later shot and killed by a security guard.

Two years ago, Miguel Penaloza, a Rite Aid worker in Glassell Park, was shot and killed. The 38-year-old had tried to stop two men who tried to leave the store with cases of beers that weren’t paid for, but in the confrontation one of them shot and killed him. The shooter was later charged with murder and second-degree robbery.

Penaloza's coworker, Juana Rodríguez, was at the rally Thursday re-telling the tragedy to stress the need for safer workplaces.

“There's days when I still feel PTSD symptoms because of what happened at my store," she said. "Miguel was a very kind and hardworking person, and he should not have died like that."

Meanwhile, L.A.-area stores have been targeted in a recent series of so-called flash mob thefts, sometimes involving dozens of people.

The opposition:
Opponents of the bill are concerned that smaller retailers won’t have the capacity to implement full safety training, which should carried out by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or Cal/OSHA.

“We believe it should be done through Cal/OSHA because what happens is it needs to be very nuanced,” said Rachel Michelin, president of the California Retailers Association. “Not every retailer is exactly the same. Not every grocery store is the same. Not every drug store is the same. And so there needs to be some wiggle room to make sure that it's actually going to be effective.”

What's next:

Senate Bill 553, authored by Senator Dave Cortese of District 15, is currently being heard by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

If passed, it heads to the full Assembly floor for a final vote and, if approved, heads to the governor's desk.