Oregon grocery workers feel left behind when it comes to COVID-19 vaccinations

PORTLAND, Oregon (KPTV) – Some essential workers, such as at the neighborhood grocery store, say they feel they are being pushed back and forth to get their vaccine, despite possible daily exposure to the virus.

The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) local 555 represents 29,000 workers in Oregon and Southwest Washington; it says about 28,000 of them are essential. The union says it is disappointed with the introduction of the vaccine in Oregon and wishes the state had chosen to give priority to essential workers according to CDC guidelines.

The union adds that many of its members work in supermarkets or food processing plants and are afraid of going to work and contracting the virus and taking it to their families.

“While they face this virus every day, they haven’t moved to the front of the line or the front of the line when it comes to getting vaccinations. So they get the risk, they keep going to work and get coughed up and dealing with customers who don’t want to wear masks but who haven’t moved up to the right level, ” said Dan Clay, the president of UFCW local 555.

Oregon Government Kate Brown has said she hears the concerns of key workers but asks them to be patient while educators are prioritized. A date by which essential workers must be vaccinated has not yet been set.

Clay says he was happy to see key workers on a list of about 1.25 million people who will receive the vaccine after the elderly, but still feels they should have been given a higher priority.