Booker Leads Colleagues in Pressing Walmart on Workplace Safety

Letter to Walmart CEO follows spate of COVID-19-related deaths of Walmart workers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), along with Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) today pressed Walmart to improve safety for its front-line workers following news that several employees of the retail giant have died due to COVID-19. In a letter sent today to Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon, the lawmakers expressed concerns about the danger Walmart workers face on the job and the lack of safeguards the retail giant is putting in place to protect them.

“We write today to strongly urge you to prioritize the health, safety, and well-being of your employees who are also our constituents, friends, family, and neighbors,” the lawmakers wrote.

The group expressed alarm that many of the safety steps that the company had announced were being taken – such as regular temperature checks of employees, the installation of plexiglass shields at checkout stations, and adequate personal protective gear – are in fact not happening as the company had promised. 

“Every day that goes by without these protections properly implemented puts the lives of more and more Americans at risk—any failure of Walmart to keep its workforce safe does not just put their employees at risk, it puts the entire country at risk,” the lawmakers argued.

The group asked Walmart to answer a series of questions by April 27 about how it planned to address the problem and their concerns.

Full text of the letter is here.

Booker has sent similar letters to Amazon pressing the tech behemoth implement stronger protections for its front-line workers.