The New York Post reports that "more than 100 truck drivers who deliver gourmet groceries to Whole Foods stores in the New York area are threatening to strike over COVID-19 safety issues … Teamster’s Local 445 members claim that their employer United Natural Foods — better known as UNFI, a publicly traded supplier to Whole Foods with $27 billion in revenue — has refused to give them basic protective equipment including masks and hand sanitizer, and that the company hasn’t disinfected their trucks in months."
In a statement, UNFI spokesman Jeff Swanson accused the union of “disseminating falsehoods and shamelessly exploiting the pandemic in an effort to try gaining negotiating leverage.”
- KC's View:
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UNFI says it has "robust plans" for mitigating any problems created by a strike, but this would be a bad time for any sort of supply chain glitch, as revived worries about the pandemic seem to have created a new wave of stockpiling.
