The impact of COVID-19 on a ‘nonessential worker’
A Macy’s employee shares his experience of being unemployed during the coronavirus shutdown.
Prior to our lives being suddenly interrupted by the ongoing pandemic, I was a Macy’s employee working every other day and attending classes in between.
As I continued to work and attend classes before the implementation of the “Stay-At-Home” orders, it seemed as though the virus and nationwide shortages were becoming the topic of many conversations.
The shortage of cleaning supplies throughout the nation led some Macy’s employees such as Royce Springfield and Pauline Brown to consider the measures taken by our store to be insufficient and worried about the potential risk to their own health. Similarly, two support team members, Catherine Mccarron and Kyle Hardial became so concerned that they refused to return to work after Florida’s first case was reported on March 1.
Despite the fear and apprehension of many of us, we continued to work.
We did our part as we took preventative measures including wearing gloves and keeping hand sanitizer readily available in order to protect ourselves as well as others. Our team leader Jaime Little, even brought disinfecting wipes into work for us to use. The wipes were used to disinfect high-touch surfaces like price scanners, registers and other items frequently handled by multiple employees throughout the day.
As we continued working as scheduled, the effect the virus was having on business was apparent. The mall had become a ghost town as customers flocked to “essential businesses” to gather groceries and cleaning supplies. With few customers in sight managers asked cashiers to communicate via text to encourage customers to come in or shop online for the ongoing sales.
For the rest of the support team and myself, it was easy to keep busy even though there were no customers, as we were accustomed to working several hours before opening in preparation for their arrival. In a sense, we were the essential workers of the store who were responsible for stocking, organizing and pricing, a role not exactly contingent upon sales.
On March 17, we were notified that the company made the decision to temporarily close all 775 stores by end of business that day with the intention to reopen on April 1. Although during this temporary closure employees were still being partially compensated, the uncertainty and severity of the pandemic left me believing that “we were in this for the long haul.”
Each day as I sat home and watched daily updates on the pandemic, the number of cases increased and more restrictions were implemented by elected officials. This confirmed my original thought that it would take an extensive amount of time before we’re able to return to any sense of normalcy.
On March 30, Macy’s made the shocking announcement that its colleagues will be furloughed or temporarily laid off until further notice. This announcement officially brought the reality of the situation to light.
“We will be moving to the absolute minimum workforce needed to maintain basic operations, which means the majority of our colleagues will go on furlough beginning this week,” said the company in a statement on its website. According to CBS News the company furlough will affect most of its 130,000 workers.
Also, in a press release on the Macy’s website the company said, “We intend to reduce pay for all levels of management, Director and above which will be effective April 1 and last for the duration of the crisis.” Jeff Gennette, chairman and CEO, will not receive compensation during this period.
“For the employees of Macy’s Pembroke in particular, all but six of our nearly 400 employees will be furloughed after April 1,” said merchandising manager Stacy Smith.
It was news that came as a surprise to some employees like Paola Rodriguez who said, “I think I’m still in shock and can’t process the fact that I’m literally unemployed right now.”
In the wake of the announcement, managers from our store sent out mass emails listing resources available during this unprecedented time such as unemployment, financial assistance and companies with an interest in hiring displaced colleagues.
Along with these resources were heartfelt words of encouragement and an optimistic look to the future. The message said, “at Macy’s, we value each of our colleagues and believe that our greatest company asset is our people, and our hope is that when we open our doors again you’ll be there to join us to serve our customers and community.”
Although it’s unknown when we’ll get through this, we should remember everyone has been affected by the coronavirus in one way or another. As far as being furloughed or deemed nonessential, it is an unfortunate but necessary price to pay to help slow the spread of the virus.
As of April 30, Macy's announced a plan to begin a phased reopening in order to have all of its stores open within six to eight weeks. The return to work for us would be a new normal where employees will have to wear company-issued masks, undergo “wellness checks”, and clean high-touch surfaces frequently.
Now with restrictions being lifted in many counties throughout the state, Macy’s Pembroke is set to reopen for business. For the many of us that are currently furloughed the store has selected a limited number of employees to return for the time being.
For some of us, we are also forced to choose between the concern we have for our own health and fulfilling the obligations we have of paying our bills.
As of May 17, I was selected to return to work and informed that many of my coworkers and I will now have additional responsibilities ranging from sales, receiving and curbside pickup.
