The Retail Worker Safety Act has been recently introduced by State Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Karines Reyes, as rising violence and crime in the industry have made frontline workers feel unprotected and afraid. The bill would require businesses with ten or more employees to put safeguards in place to combat workplace violence. These include risk assessments, active shooter drills, and training in violence prevention and de-escalation tactics. Organized crime that targets stores with retail theft has surged and needs to be addressed, and Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) said, “we are demanding that worker safety and especially lives be valued at least as much as the merchandise they sell.”
Read the full story by Crystal Lewis for The Chief-Leader, published, here: https://thechiefleader.com/stories/unions-back-bill-to-protect-retail-workers,51840
