Boston workers of Stop & Shop, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's unite to protest amid four grocery worker deaths nationwide as irate Amazon warehouse staff accuse Jeff Bezos of 'valuing profit over safety' (9 Pics)

Workers at Stop & ShopWhole Foods, and Trader Joe's in Boston united to protest against working conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic Tuesday. 
The grocery store employees joined forces with customers to demand 'adequate protections', NBC Boston reports. The group met in a Whole Foods parking lot where they stood apart to protest. 
One worker at Shaw's grocery story, Lisa Wilson, told the network: 'I think grocery stores like to look like they're doing things...but as far as actually enforcing it...that's not really happening.'
Their protest comes after the deaths of at least four grocery workers across the United States. 
Two Walmart employees at the same Chicago-area store, a Trader Joe's worker in New York, and a greeter at a Maryland Giant grocery store passed away in the last two weeks.
The US is now barreling towards the infection's projected peak day on April 16 when experts predict there will be over 3,000 deaths in 24 hours. The death toll reached 12,035 across the country Monday. 
Workers at Stop & Shop , Whole Foods , and Trader Joe's in Boston united to protest against working conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic Tuesday
Workers at Stop & Shop , Whole Foods , and Trader Joe's in Boston united to protest against working conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic Tuesday
The grocery store employees joined forces with customers to demand 'adequate protections', NBC Boston reports. The group met in a Whole Foods parking lot
The grocery store employees joined forces with customers to demand 'adequate protections', NBC Boston reports. The group met in a Whole Foods parking lot 

Around 30 protester met on Tuesday morning after several of their colleagues from across the state tested positive for the virus. 
Other frontline workers have also gone on strike as a result of working conditions, including those as Amazon facilities, with owner Jeff Bezos being accused of 'valuing profit over safety'. 
The online retail giant is tracking its warehouse staff and will fire them for failing to socially distance themselves from their co-workers. 
Workers at facilities across the United States are said to have received letters from their employer explaining they could be sacked after just one warning. 
A number of Amazon employees have walked out in recent days over conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic. One worker told CNBC it is understood cameras would be used to watch and review staff for any potential violations. 
One Amazon worker in Easton, Pennsylvania told The Guardian owner Jeff Bezos 'clearly values profits above employee safety or health'.
Amazon says they have deployed an additional 450,000 canisters of disinfectant wipes, 50,000 hand sanitizers and 20,000 wall mounted sanitizer refill containers to sites in addition to other cleaning materials that were on-hand. 
Employee Tonya Ramsay, right, holds a sign outside the Amazon DTW1 fulfillment center in Romulus, Michigan on Wednesday, April 1
Employee Tonya Ramsay, right, holds a sign outside the Amazon DTW1 fulfillment center in Romulus, Michigan on Wednesday, April 1
The anonymous employee added: 'They send us a very standard text every time they learn of a new case, reminding us that our 'health and safety are most important', before reminding us we can take as much time off without pay as we like. 
Amazon owner Jeff Bezos has been accused of 'valuing profit over safety'
Amazon owner Jeff Bezos has been accused of 'valuing profit over safety'
'Of course, anyone with bills to pay will have to go back in eventually. 
'The fact that we're still expected to report to work in a compromised warehouse to ship non-essential products if we still want to earn our living tells me that Amazon and Jeff Bezos clearly value profits above employee safety or health.' 
'We have no more wipes and hand sanitizer. We aren't provided masks, don't have the proper gloves, and not everything is being sanitized and cleaned before it comes to use,' one warehouse worker in Phoenix, Arizona added.  
Those delivering the food are also worried for their safety. The Truckers Independent Drivers Association wrote to Donald Trump asking for their health to be protected. 
Todd Spencer, president and CEO of Kansas based organization, said: 'Right now professional drivers are busting their butts to care for the nation.
'Their hard work and personal sacrifice should not include their health or even their lives if at all possible or preventable.'

In the U.S., grocery shopping had only been slowly migrating online before the outbreak, making up 3 per cent of the food retail market, according to a report last year by Deutsche Bank.
As the crisis hit, delivery orders surged as millions of Americans stayed home. 
During the week of March 2, even before some cities and states imposed 'stay at home' orders, Instacart, Amazon, and Walmart grocery delivery sales all jumped by at least two-thirds from the year before, according to Earnest Research. 
Instacart, a platform that partners with more than 25,000 stores in North America, says orders in more recent weeks have surged 150 per cent. 
As a result, customers in hard-hit New York City are waiting days to schedule deliveries that usually take just hours. 
Major grocery stores across the US report first employee deaths  
Top supermarket chains across the United States are reporting their first COVID-19 employee deaths after at least four staffers at retailers like Walmart and Trader Joe's died.  
Two Walmart employees at the same Chicago-area store, a Trader Joe's worker in New York, and a greeter at a Maryland Giant grocery store passed away in the last two weeks, The Washington Post reports.    
Last week, Giant’s Campus Way South greeter Leilani Jordan, 27, died of COVID-19 in Largo, Maryland, on Wednesday. 
Zenobia Shepherd, Jordan's mother, told The Post: 'She said, "Mommy, I’m going to work because no one else is going to help the senior citizens get their groceries."'
Leilani Jordan (pictured), a greeter at Giant’s Campus Way South store, died of the coronavirus last week in Largo, Maryland

Leilani Jordan (pictured), a greeter at Giant’s Campus Way South store, died of the coronavirus last week in Largo, Maryland
'She only stopped going to work when she could no longer breathe.'
Jordan 's last day at work was March 16, said spokesman Daniel Wolk. She tested positive for the coronavirus in late March, 
The company has since sanitized the Giant store and is providing counseling for staff members. 
Walmart Inc. revealed in a statement that two staffers at the Evergreen Park store passed away from complications related to coronavirus. 
Wando Evans, a 51-year-old overnight maintenance worker, died on March 25 after working for Walmart for 15 years. 
Phillip Thomas, 48, died four days later on March 29 following nine years at the store. He was turning 49-year-olds on April 12. 
Pictured: Wando Evans, 51
Pictured: Phillip Thomas, 49
(Left to Right) Wando Evans and Phillip Thomas, two employees at an Evergreen Park Walmart, died of coronavirus just four days apart 
Both men suffered underlying health conditions, Patch reported. 
'We are heartbroken to learn of the passing of two associates at our Evergreen Park store, and we are mourning along with their families,' a statement from Walmart reads. 
The company said neither employee had been in the Evergreen Park store 'for more than a week.'   
On Monday, a Trader Joe's employee in Scarsdale, New York, died of the disease. The victim's identity has not been made public. 
Spokeswoman Kenya Friend-Daniel said the store where the victim worked is closed until Thursday to allow colleagues 'time to process and grieve.'
Employees will be paid during the temporary closure and get two additional days of paid leave.

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