COVID safety complaints spark third investigation at Puyallup grocery distribution hub
Frustrations have mounted among workers dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak at the Fred Meyer grocery distribution center in Puyallup.
Complaints sent to the state’s Department of Labor & Industries have resulted in the third COVID-19 safety probe of the center this year.
The latest inspection case was opened the week of Oct. 12. The previous two found no COVID violations, according to an L&I representative.
On Wednesday, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department’s COVID-19 tracking page showed the distribution center had 42 confirmed COVID-19 cases total, up from the previous week’s 33 and an initial outbreak count of 20 on Sept. 23.
The center, which employs around 700 and serves area Fred Meyer stores, had another outbreak spanning April and May.
The health department shows the site has now had a cumulative 57 cases from the two outbreaks.
Fred Meyer contends it is doing all it can to keep workers safe, and the local health department has recently conducted an onsite review.
“They voluntarily allowed us to come on-site to review their practices in person,” according to Dale Phelps, communications lead for the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department’s COVID-19 response.
In a statement provided by Jeffery Temple, media representative for Fred Meyer, the grocer said: “We continue to take extensive measures to safeguard our associates, customers and supply chain.”
Lax COVID safety?
Warehouse workers have repeatedly described lax COVID safety standards.
James Barnett, a six-year Fred Meyer distribution center employee, shared with The News Tribune an email he sent to both Gov. Jay Inslee’s office and his union, Teamsters Local 117, calling for more safety precautions.
“My fear is that we work in a community business and that many people of the public are being subjected because of a company doing the bare minimum to enforce any safety standards. My biggest fear for myself is getting it unknowingly, possibly giving it to someone else and they end up gravely ill,” he wrote in the email.
Barnett spoke with The News Tribune on the day he was awaiting results of his own COVID-19 test, which came back negative.
In a phone interview Oct. 12, he described crowded working conditions which he said were made worse by production goals, ill workers on the job fearful of missing work and inadequate safety measures, including a thermal camera installed to monitor workers’ temperatures.
“That’s never gone off, and lots of people have had the virus, so I don’t understand how that works. I think it’s supposed to measure temperature,” Barnett said. “I honestly don’t know. People will come to work, be extremely sick and realize that and then they’ll leave.”
Other workers have described similar working conditions to The News Tribune since the first outbreak was reported in April.
Fred Meyer rejected the characterization of lax COVID-19 safety protocols.
“We are continuing all of our safety practices, which have been reviewed by the county health department. In fact, department officials have stated that they are pleased with our processes and protocols, including our properly working temp-check system,” the grocer said in its emailed statement to The News Tribune.
Among the workers most recently diagnosed, “All have self-quarantined in alignment with our Emergency Leave Guidelines,” according to the retailer.
Phelps, the health department’s COVID-19 communications lead, told The News Tribune on Thursday, “They do have some good infection prevention practices in place, and we have recommended additional infection-prevention practices where needed.”
He did not offer further details on the recommended additions.
“We have worked with the site over the phone and in-person to review their infection-prevention practices. We have shared all recommendations with Fred Meyer directly. They have been very open to working with us, communicate with us regularly and are receptive to our recommendations,” Phelps said via email.
Phelps said the local health director, under state law, “has the authority to take certain actions, but we prefer to work cooperatively with facilities to address issues. That’s what we are doing with Fred Meyer.”
The health department’s website recently started listing individual business outbreaks, which require 60 or more employees and 10 or more confirmed COVID-19 cases at one site.
According to Phelps, the department’s facilities team has been working with about 50 businesses each week.
So far, the grocery distribution hub has been the only one to make the public list.
Teamsters respond
Teamsters Local 117, which represents workers at the distribution center, has been critical of Fred Meyer’s actions during both outbreaks.
The union in May told The News Tribune it had pushed for more virus screening and adjusting production standards to allow for more social distancing.
The union has “been clear with Fred Meyer that they need to take more aggressive and immediate steps to address the outbreak and protect our members,” John Scearcy, Teamsters 117 secretary-treasurer, said via email in response to questions from The News Tribune on Oct. 15.
“We’ve brought our members’ concerns to company management multiple times, at least six to eight, since the beginning of October, and they have been slow to respond,” Scearcy said. “On (Oct. 13) we met again with company management and urged them to enforce CDC social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines inside the warehouse. We discussed the need for frequent and thorough sanitation of the facility with an emphasis on all touch points in areas like the bathrooms and break rooms.
“Regarding new hire protocols and the efficacy of the thermal cameras, we’ve asked the company about both, but they have provided very little information.”
Scearcy said the union asked members “who have tested positive with COVID-19 to contact the union. With their consent, we have shared that information with the rest of the group.”
According to Fred Meyer: “We provide communication updates to all associates with company email addresses and also at our central communication boards.”
Barnett showed The News Tribune texts he received in April of notifications of ill workers but said he had not received any more since the first outbreak.
L&I inspections
Tim Church, media representative for the state Department of Labor & Industries, told The News Tribune two previous inspections this year based on complaints filed in March and June did not find any COVID-19 safety violations.
The March inspection had a social distancing and masking complaint tacked on to it after an initial freight-stacking complaint did lead to a citation and fine for unsafe forklift operations.
“They were fined $2,100, but the citation and fine were for not ensuring forklift operators were using restraints ... basically they weren’t wearing their seat belts in their forklifts,” Church told The News Tribune.
According to the L&I citation: “Three employees were observed operating a forklift in the warehouse with a restraint device installed, but not used.” It noted the violation was corrected during the inspection.
There have been two more COVID-19 safety complaints, one filed in late September and one in early October, resulting in the latest investigation with L&I.
“Throughout this crisis, we have encouraged our members to file health and safety complaints with the Department of Labor and Industries. Several have done so,” Scearcy said via email.
Fred Meyer production goals
Another point of contention that Fred Meyer did not directly address in its statement provided to The News Tribune is the issue of workloads.
Workers including Barnett have told The News Tribune a shortage of workers out either sick or in quarantine has led to a cycle of increasing hours, while individual performance standards have only been reduced to 95 percent without disciplinary action.
In mid-July, an internal memo posted at the site and shared with The News Tribune noted that a 95 percent work production standard was agreed to after the bulk of workers were shown to be performing above 95 percent as attempts were made after the first outbreak to improve social distancing.
The memo described it as “an appropriate level, which supports the business and allows for increased reduction of overtime, benefiting everyone, while still allowing time to use safe methods.”
Barnett contends it hasn’t worked out that way.
“A lot of the pickers are getting the virus just because we’re in such close proximity to each other,” Barnett said. “We’re on super-tight time standards, and we’re having to be really close to each other all the time. So, you know, it’s just for that reason everybody’s kind of starting to get sick.”
The union appears to agree with Barnett’s assessment.
“Much of the problem revolves around the company’s continued insistence on pressing our members to meet unsafe production goals,” said Scearcy in his emailed statement. “This has led to overcrowding in the warehouse aisles and a fear of discipline for failing to meet those goals.”
The union says it is “fighting this issue through the grievance and arbitration process in our contract and by gathering petition signatures. So far, we have filed 15 individual grievances and one grievance that covers the entire bargaining unit. We have urged the company to expedite these grievances so we can get an arbitrator’s ruling on this matter soon.”
Meanwhile, Fred Meyer has been hiring to address the workloads and overtime.
“The other day they had all these tables set out in front of the warehouse and basically if you walked up and applied, you got a job,” Barnett said.
The retailer has hired 206 associates at the facility since March, “all of which have passed background checks,” the grocer said in its statement provided to The News Tribune.
“Before the second outbreak at the facility, we pressed the company in our grievance meetings to have an industrial engineer measure the production standard in a way that accounts for CDC-recommended guidelines,” Scearcy said via email. “After some delay, Kroger sent an engineer to the Puyallup distribution center to conduct an audit at the end of September.
“We have requested the audit results from the company and will be passing them on to engineers at our international union for review.”
A few days after that time study audit, Barnett said, the second outbreak started.
“Somebody needs to be held accountable,” he said. “We’re responding as though it’s March, you know, just trying to wipe stuff down and we’re in October now. And once these outbreaks happen, they’re just still wiping stuff down. We have to change something. Nothing is changing and that’s the problem.”
