Union urges CEOs of food chains to reinforce mask wearing

NEW YORK (AP) — The nation’s largest food and retail union is urging more than 60 retail and grocery chains to implement stronger measures to help protect hourly workers amid a surge of virus infections and the new variant omicron. The United Food and Commercial Workers Union, which has 1.3 million members, said in a letter to the CEOs of Walmart, Kroger and others that the stores should reinstate social distancing protocols and urge customers to wear mask at all locations. The union also is pushing chains to provide paid sick leave benefits to encourage workers to get the initial vaccination or the vaccination booster should they have a reaction.