The most partisan item in Wegmans at the moment is a can of Goya beans. After Goya Foods President Bob Unanue praised the president, Trump opponents called for a boycott and Trump supporters stocked up. Ivanka Trump and her father, having no more serious subjects to occupy them, joined the fray by posing for endorsement…
Tag: Wegmans
Taking off my name tag
I am no longer a Wegmans worker. Sleep deprivation and a recurring illness (not covid, thankfully), made me realize that the physical demands of the job were too much. The overnight shift puts you out of sync not only with your own biorhythms but with the rest of society. The isolation of keeping opposite hours,…
Our polyglot night crew
I work with a young guy who came here from a country roiled by terrorism. (I’m not going to name it, because I don’t want to identify him.) He works nights at Wegmans, stocking snack foods, flour, and sugar. Days, he works toward a college degree. I met him when he interviewed for the job…
Night worker’s diary, 5/14/2020
A bit alarmed by my walkthrough. Our toilet paper stash has dwindled to a couple of stacks of single rolls. At other stops on my route, no wipes, no yeast. You can always tell how busy the day has been by the number of reshop baskets at the front of the store. These are the…
Say it with a card
What to get Mom when you can’t take her out to dinner or bring the grandkids over for a visit? Flowers, of course. This is what my store’s floral department looked like by closing time Saturday night. Heightened demand combined with reduced deliveries to create a buying spree we haven’t seen since the Great Toilet…
Masks and wellness checks make their debut
My co-workers have finally begun to wear masks. Not all of them, but some, which indicates not only that they’ve received the required training but that the company has reduced the pressure not to. Beginning yesterday, Wegmans employees undergo wellness checks before starting work. We’re asked whether we’re experiencing any symptoms, including a new or…
Shifting sands at Wegmans
I’ve been searching for the word that best encapsulates the change in Wegmans, pre- and post-coronavirus. How have perceptions been altered by the company’s response to the pandemic? The word trust comes to mind, certainly. Although Wegmans maintains a loyal and enthusiastic customer base, many of us trust the company less today than we did…
An essential worker wallows
In the early days of the Corona Epoch, I was distressed to hear that people of Asian heritage were being harassed. Then I learned of some friends in the South who were told to “get the f**k out” because their car had New York plates. Now, I have to admit, I wonder if I’m branded…
The reappearing grocery list
People who would never dream of flinging McDonald’s bags or empty Budweiser cans out car windows have no qualms about littering in supermarkets. Even for the law-abiding, the act of leaving things in wrong places is part of the shopping experience. Miscreants will select a family-sized package of hamburger, decide several aisles later they don’t…
A deafening silence from Wegmans
It’s permitted, not recommended, and certainly not promoted. That’s essentially the Wegmans stance on employees wearing face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. On Thursday, the company dropped a ban forbidding workers from wearing masks on the job. Internally, there has been a deafening silence in the days since. I can’t speak for all employees, but…