Union And Retailers Warn Of Confusion With New CDC Mask Guidance

The United Food and Commercial Workers union fears the relaxed guidelines will create more uncertainty for grocery workers.

Mask-weary Americans got some welcome news on Thursday when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention loosened its guidance on face coverings. Those who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus would no longer have to wear masks in most situations, including indoors. But a union representing hundreds of thousands of grocery store workers isn’t celebrating. The president of the United Food and Commercial Workers union warned that the relaxed protocols were unfair to store clerks and cashiers who have no way of knowing who’s vaccinated and who’s not. “Millions of Americans are doing the right thing and getting vaccinated, but essential workers are still forced to play mask police for shoppers who are unvaccinated and refuse to follow local COVID safety measures,” UFCW President Marc Perrone said in a statement. “Are they now supposed to become the vaccination police?”