Retail Workers Fear for their Safety as Theft & Assaults Surge
Amid Attacks and Thefts, Some Retail Workers Want to Fight Back

Assaults at stores have been increasing at a faster pace than the national average. Some workers are tired of fearing for their safety.

There was the shooting that killed 10 people, including three workers, at the King Soopers supermarket in Boulder, Colo., in March 2021. Another shooting left 10 more people dead at a Buffalo grocery store last month.

In her 37 years in the grocery industry, said Kim Cordova, a union president in Colorado, she had never experienced the level of violence that her members face today.

So when she was negotiating contracts for 21,000 grocery workers in Colorado this past winter, the usual issues of wages and scheduling were certainly on the table. But just as critical, if not more so, was safety.

According to a New York Times analysis of F.B.I. assault data, the number of assaults in many retail establishments has been increasing at a faster pace than the national average.

From 2018 to 2020, assaults overall rose 42 percent; they increased 63 percent in grocery stores and 75 percent in convenience stores. Of the more than two million assaults reported to the F.B.I. by law enforcement agencies across the country in 2020, more than 82,000 — about 4 percent — were at shopping malls, convenience stores and other similar locations.

Last year, the F.B.I. said, more than half the so-called active shooter attacks — in which an individual with a gun is killing or trying to kill people in a busy area — occurred in places of commerce, including stores.

“Violence in and around retail settings is definitely increasing, and it is a concern,” said Jason Straczewski, a vice president of government relations and political affairs at the National Retail Federation.

Safety #1 Issue | Hands-On Approach? | Felony Threshold Impact: Read full article here

Mass Shooting Surge Fuels Shopper Anxiety
U.S. struggle with mass shootings has changed how people live their lives

The surge of gun violence has some Americans avoiding public places 

CNN recently spoke to people about the fear and anxiety they feel amid a surge of gun violence and several high-profile mass shootings, and how those feelings have affected the way they live.

Many, like Megan, described a new, compulsive habit of identifying escape routes or hiding spots in crowded gatherings, or avoiding certain public places altogether. Parents expressed a fear of sending kids to school, or a desire to move abroad. Teachers recounted leaving their chosen career. 

For some these raw feelings are new, emerging after mass shootings like those at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, and an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. But for others, this anxiety has been building for years as the list of shootings gets ever-longer -- and a sense of dread grows along with the death toll. 

As of June 23, there had been 279 mass shootings in the United States since the beginning of the year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which, like CNN, defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more people are shot, excluding the shooter. That means there have been more mass shootings so far this year than there have been days -- a trend that also occurred in 2020 and 2021. 

Glenda Prince stopped going to her local supermarket outside Austin, Texas, fearing the store with a predominantly Black customer base could be a target -- like the one where last month's shooting in Buffalo happened.

Prince, a British citizen who has lived in the US since the 1980s, now drives about 20 miles into Austin to go shopping. She goes less often, too, and when she does, she tends to go late at night when it's less busy. She goes to these extra lengths, she said, because she wants to see her 7-month-old grandson live to reach 18.

"Prior to all of this, you just didn't think about it. You just lived your life, and you went about and did what you have to do," Prince said. "Now you've got to think about it and just don't put yourself in harm's way."  cnn.com

Letting Repeat Shoplifters Run Free in NYC
‘Professional booster’ notches 100th shoplifting bust — and is released again
A “professional booster” with an alleged penchant for shoplifting at Manhattan retailers notched what could be her 100th bust over the weekend — and was released without bail yet again on Sunday.

Michelle McKelley, 42, was arrested late Saturday for allegedly pocketing $125 worth of goods from a CVS in Lower Manhattan, and then was freed under the state’s soft-on-crime criminal justice reforms.

Prosecutors said in Manhattan Criminal Court Sunday that McKelley has failed to appear in court 27 times on her multitude of past arrests — and has five other pending cases.

But the charges do not qualify for bail under the 2019 state reform, which means prosecutors could only ask that she be let go on supervised release while the case is pending. Manhattan Judge Charlotte Davidson agreed, noting the charges do not qualify for bail.

McKelley, who described herself to cops as a “professional booster,” was last cut loose Thursday after she was charged with stealing from a Duane Reade in East Harlem. Last month, she was charged with robbing a Rite Aid at Second Avenue and East 96th Street 10 times, with cops at that time reporting it was her 108th arrest. Court officials said the Thursday bust was just her 99th, without explaining the discrepancy.

McKelley is so brazen that when she was arrested in February for allegedly ripping off a Target store on the Upper East Side she bragged that “I haven’t got caught in a long time.” nypost.com

Major Crimes Surge 40% in NYC
‘It’s bad’: Eric Adams admits being ‘shocked’ by the sorry state of NYC
Mayor Eric Adams had no idea how rotten the Big Apple was at its core before taking office — telling The Post he was “shocked” to learn just “how bad this place is.”

During an exclusive interview conducted as Adams rode the subways overnight for more than three hours last week, the former NYPD transit cop said he was astounded by the botched “deployment of resources” that has New Yorkers on edge amid a nearly 40 percent surge in major crimes this year.

“Let me tell you something: When I started looking into this, I was shocked at how bad this place is,” he said of the city.

Adams — who campaigned on a promise to restore order to an increasingly lawless Gotham — said the scales fell from his eyes when he began reviewing internal city operations following his swearing in moments after midnight on New Year’s Day.

“It was probably the third — third or fourth week in January. I spent a lot of time in the office,” he said. Using the NYPD “as one example,” he said, “We have not utilized this amazing agency and all our skills.”

In 2021, the final year of de Blasio’s tenure, the city saw nearly every category of major crime increase to levels that hadn’t been seen in years, with felony assaults exceeding 22,000 for the first time since 2001. The number of murders also reached 486, the most since the 515 committed in 2011. nypost.com

For Gun Violence Researchers, Bipartisan Bill Is a ‘Glass Half Full’
Now that President Biden has signed the most significant revision to the nation’s gun laws in decades, America’s gun violence researchers are taking a bit of a victory lap — despite viewing the bipartisan legislation as imperfect and last week’s Supreme Court decision expanding gun rights as a countervailing setback.

SF: Is Mayor Breed's budget too focused on downtown and the Tenderloin?

Eric Adams patrols subways with NYPD cops amid surge in transit crime

US: 88.9M Cases - 1M Dead - 84.6M Recovered
Worldwide: 549.9M Cases - 6.3M Dead - 525.7M Recovered

Former Senior Loss Prevention Executive
Know of any fallen LP exec? Let's remember & recognize.

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 360  
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 787
*Red indicates change in total deaths

The Post-COVID Great Debate
Remote working vs back to the office: Benefits are clear, but there could be trouble ahead for some

When offered remote work, most people will take it - but not all employers are so clear on the value.

It's clear that remote working has become a pretty popular option for many people, and some new research shows just how widespread that's become. The latest edition of McKinsey's American Opportunity Survey queried 25,000 Americans in spring 2022 and it found that over half (58%) had the option of working from home at least one day a week.

One in three said that, if they wanted, they could work from home five days a week. And when workers are given the option of remote working, 87% of them will take it.

"This dynamic is widespread across demographics, occupations, and geographies. The flexible working world was born of a frenzied reaction to a sudden crisis but has remained as a desirable job feature for millions. This represents a tectonic shift in where, when, and how Americans want to work and are working," the researchers said.

Unsurprisingly, according to McKinsey, the "vast majority" of employed people in computer and mathematical occupations report having remote-work options, and 77% report being willing to work fully remotely.  zdnet.com

COVID Helps China Overtake the U.S. in Apparel Retail
China topples US in apparel retail market size during COVID-19
China displaced the US to gain top position in terms of apparel retail market size during COVID-19 years of 2022 and 2021, mainly owing to milder impact of the pandemic compared to the world’s largest economy. It is projected that China would gain further lead over the US by 2025 because the market size growth will be more than double for the Asian giant.

The US was much ahead of China in 2017, when apparel retail market size was $327.61 billion for the US and $235.30 billion for China. American market size grew to $332.86 billion in 2018 and $337.52 billion in 2019. But the market size shrunk to $252.90 billion in 2020 due to the pandemic and frequent lockdowns, according to Fibre2Fashion’s market insight tool TexPro. fibre2fashion.com

Covid anxiety is giving way to economic anxiety. How to cope.

F.D.A. May Move Toward Updating Vaccines
 

Ongoing Retail Response to Roe v. Wade Decision
How retailers are responding to the Roe v. Wade ruling

Many companies have spoken out in the wake of the decision to reiterate current benefits or add to their abortion coverage for employees.

The Supreme Court’s decision last week to overturn the half century-old constitutional protection of the right to abortion led several retailers and brands to join others in pledging to pay for medical services and travel for employees in need of the medical procedure.

Retailers like Levi’s and Amazon had previously released statements to that effect following a leaked draft of the landmark opinion last month. That indication of the high court’s reversal on Roe did little to prevent the shock that ensued following the official opinion, spurring protests nationwide, including on the court’s own doorstep.

Indeed, companies moving to protect access to abortion have the American public on their side: In a CBS/YouGov poll taken June 24 to 25, a solid majority (59%) in the U.S. disapprove of the ruling, with 64% saying they believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

Retailers aren’t the only ones taking such steps — big banks including Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are reiterating or adding abortion services and abortion-related travel expenses to their benefit plans, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In a tweet following the decision, GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders, an investor analyst who covers the retail industry, said, “We must not rest until women’s rights are reinstated.”

Read more about retail's response here: retaildive.com

With Roe v. Wade overturned, which states would restrict or protect abortion rights?

New York Times: America Before and After Roe

CVS, Walmart and Rite Aid Limit Purchases of Plan B Pills After Surge in Demand