Items

• 
  04/29/2020

  Daniel Blatter Oral History, 2020/04/28

  C19OH
• 
  2021-10-08

  Covid Violence

  Unfortunately, Covid-related violence is on the rise with the reality of mask mandates. This problem poses a real risk for retail workers and others whose jobs require working with the general public. Several department stores in my area have hired security guards due to this problem. I have had several friends and acquaintances leave jobs in retail recently due to experiencing customer aggression on the job.
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  2021-03-17

  A Day at Macy's Inc. During a Worldwide Pandemic

  As my primary source I chose a picture that I took on March 17, 2021 at 8:39pm, it was the end of my shift in my retail job. This picture was taken one year later since they first closed down the city. I work in Macy’s Inc. at Bay Plaza, and the store was closed during the pandemic until the end of June. When the store first reopened, big crowds of people came to the store every single day without caring about the pandemic. It is understandable that all they wanted was to shop, and also get out of their houses to distract themselves. This picture is just a small representation of what retail workers have to deal with during times like this. It got to a point, where it was very frustrating seen so many people at the store walking around trying to shop. Many people did not care about the 6ft social distancing, and others did not want to wear a mask because it was too hot, or they couldn’t breathe. There was a limit of 600 people in the whole store, but in days like this I know for sure that it was more than that. The women shoes department was always full of people, there was always a long line, people were right next to each other, and others were screaming or talking too loudly. People were getting into arguments with each other, many were getting frustrated because they wanted to get a shoe size right away. Others were just sitting on the couch sleeping, you could hear babies crying, and kids running or playing around dropping shoes on the floor. I remember I was in the register during my whole shift taking customer after customer, some were really nice but others very rude. As my job, I have to ask every customer if they want to open a Macy’s credit card with us, but their answer was always, “I can’t afford it, this virus has made me broke” yet, they were still out shopping. On this day, I had a disagreement with a customer because I told her to put her mask on about 3 times, and she just ignored me. She then, approaches me to pay for a shirt, and I told her very kindly once again, “can you please put your mask on? Thank you!”. Her reaction was priceless because she was furious and asked me if it wasn’t enough with the plexiglass that was between us, I felt very frustrated because she didn’t seem to understand how serious this virus is. I told her no, and refuse to ring her out she then, proceeded to another register very furious and still with no mask on. We are not essential workers but working in a retail store during this pandemic has been very overwhelming. The company benefits from all of this because they reach their sales goals every day. When I think about it, we as employees should be happy that there are sales because it means the store won’t close down, and we can keep our jobs. The customers do not seem to have any type of consideration for any of us as retail workers. It upsets me because now more than ever, everyone should be thankful for still being alive after what we just went through this whole year. We need to appreciate each other, and respect one another because we don’t know what everyone is going through. Always be kind to everyone!
• 
  2020-11-20

  大型セール“ブラックフライデー”仏で1週間延期へ(2020年11月21日) - Large sale "Black Friday" postponed for one week in France (November 21, 2020)

  厳しい外出制限が敷かれているフランスでは、ブラックフライデーの大型セールを1週間延期することが決まりました。 　フランスでは新型コロナウイルスの感染拡大を受けて多くの中小の小売店が閉鎖されています。一方でアマゾンなどネット通販大手は営業を続けていて、ブラックフライデーのセールが27日から始まることに小売店からは不満の声が高まっていました。それを受けて政府は20日、ブラックフライデーの大型セールを27日から1週間延期し、それまでに小売店の営業再開を認めることを発表しました。 In France, where strict outing restrictions are in place, it has been decided to postpone the big Black Friday sale for a week. In France, many small and medium-sized retail stores have been closed due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection. On the other hand, major online shopping companies such as Amazon are still in business, and retailers have been complaining that the Black Friday sale will start on the 27th. In response, the government announced on the 20th that it will postpone the big Black Friday sale for a week from the 27th and allow retailers to reopen by then. Video translated by Youngbin Noh