by Anya Firszt, General Manager
Hello April
“An ounce of prevention is worth of pound of cure.”
“Better safe than sorry.”
“Necessity is the Mother of invention.”
In response to COVID-19, we have made a number of changes to how we do business. We anticipate even more changes will be necessary to keep pace with the evolving regulatory requirements issued by the State of Wisconsin to try and slow/stop the spread of COVID-19.
Please check our website at www.willystreet.coop for real-time updates.
COVID-19 Preventative Measures at the Co-op
We have taken a number of preventative measures to address minimizing personal contact between customers and staff from adjusting open hours to temporarily shutting down service counters, the Salad/Hot/Olive Bars and Bulk departments to installing social distancing mechanisms throughout the stores. The full list is extensive, more than what can be included here, and could be wildly out of date by the time this issue of the Reader is published. Please check out our website for COVID-19 operational updates regarding open hours, delivery and pick up services, customer limits, etc. I should also mention that we have canceled Wellness Wednesday this month and, instead, created a virtual Wellness Any Day coupon. That means, on any one transaction in April, each Owner account can get 10% off Wellness and Bodycare items in that transaction. Just let your cashier know that you would like to use your virtual coupon.
You may notice your newsletter is a little shorter this month—the whole center section of sales pages aren’t there. Vendors and distributors are not able to commit to fulfilling all orders, and some of them have canceled planned sales. You may still find some products at discounted prices in our stores, but we simply cannot advertise them because we cannot guarantee their availability.
A note about hours of operation
Our open hours are from 10:00am-8:00pm daily until further notice with a 50 customer limit. We are asking (not requiring) that the first hour of business (10:00am-11:00am) be reserved for elderly shoppers or those shoppers with compromised immune systems. Thank you in advance for your consideration and understanding to support these shoppers.
Additionally, we have expanded our online delivery and pick-up service to address an increase in the demand for this service, which can also help limit the number of people shopping in the stores. See shop.willystreet.coop.
Heartfelt thanks and appreciation
Our employees are providing essential and invaluable service to you and our communities in order to ensure we can remain open for business. We owe each and every employee a debt of gratitude for reporting to duty and being on the front lines so you can buy groceries. We have received a record number of customer comments singing the praises of staff during these challenging times. Please join me and show your thanks and appreciation for our staff the next time you are shopping.
And, do everything you possibly can to keep yourself and our staff healthy and safe. If you have never been a rule follower, now is the time to embrace and practice social distancing and good hand hygiene!
On behalf of the entire Co-op, thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate the COVID-19 Pandemic together.
Collective Bargaining Agreement
The Willy Street Co-op employee members of the UE Local 1186 ratified their first union contract on March 16, 2020. This two-year contract establishes pay rates and increases, benefits, and policies for hourly members of the bargaining unit that augment the previously agreed to attendance and sick benefit agreement. We are presently working through the necessary action items to ensure pay rates, vacation and other contract agreements are implemented.
Temporary Agreements
Immediately following ratification of the contract, the UE Local 1186 met with management to establish a number of temporary agreements (TAs) to deal with the COVID-19 Pandemic. These will be in place until April 16, 2020 when they will be renewed, modified, or discontinued.
These TAs include the House version of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, mainly providing additional sick benefit and expanded FMLA to all employees, not just bargaining unit employees. We also agreed with the UE to establish volunteer sign-up lists for bargaining unit staff working the same or next day (quicker turnaround), and the ability to meet staff shortfalls with temporary hires.
Until next month, stay well.