SuperMarket, SuperHero

The City of New York has been deeply affected by the current Coronavirus pandemic, and those working in this time of crisis are in dire need of more resources to sustain themselves and stay safe. The system currently in place does not allow these workers to take the utmost precaution, maintain their livelihoods, and keep their families safe. I have chosen to memorialize these front line workers, more specifically grocery store workers, to give them presence in a space which has seemed to have otherwise forgotten about them, their contributions, and their rights.

My memorialization will occur in a less traditional way than a bronze statue per say, but will rather consist of real grocery store employees and quotes of theirs printed on reusable shopping bags under the brand/slogan “SuperMarket, SuperHero”. These bags will be distributed to each major retailer beginning in New York City, as well as smaller businesses/bodegas, on the premise that the 100% of the proceeds obtained will go to the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) to allocate more resources and advocate for policy change. The bags will look like regular grocery bags, but will be made out of sustainable fabric and will have comfortable straps attached. The designs of the bags will mainly be focussed around artwork from different artists’ representations of the Coronavirus, as well as quotes or statistics of how front line grocery workers are treated printed on one side of the bag, so any major grocery stores (Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Ralphs, Vons, etc.) have the option to place their own logo and possibly even a supportive quote on the other side. This will allow for the community to be involved, as they can champion for their own stores to carry the bags, submit their own designs, or even vote for their favorite bag they’ve seen or purchased! To have art as the design for these bags is important to me, as artists are workers who are also having to defend their livelihoods in this pandemic, and to give a voice to artists who soothe the world through their representations is almost like a no-brainer. All of these actions will promote the idea that grocery store workers are not only essential, but should be treated as such. The bags will first be distributed with three different patterns and as the popularity grows, so will the designs with help from those submitting their own designs.

The first bag will honor Leilani Jordan, a Giant Food employee a part of their disability program, who passed away due to Coronavirus in early April. Leilani was only 27 years old, so this bag’s design will incorporate youth in the form of an illustration by Amber Victoria entitled Growing Inwards which “encourages those to social distance in a physical way, but allow themselves to grow closer to those they care about in an emotional (and digital, if means are available) way.” (Estiler). The quote on the bag will read “She said, ‘Mommy, I’m going to work because no one else is going to help the senior citizens get their groceries. She only stopped going to work when she could no longer breathe.”, which her mother stated in an interview (Natanson). This bag will represent the need for not only compassion, but also recognition for Jordan’s and other employees’ hard work. The last paycheck Jordan received was a total of $20.64, which only further displays just how hard these grocers work without the proper compensation (O’Kane).

The next bag will honor Doug Preszler, who works at a regional supermarket in eastern Iowa. The quote on the bag will read “They’ve started telling people, ‘Go to the grocery store as little as possible.’ And yet I’m going there every day.” (Bhattarai) which will allow for the representation of just how essential these workers are. The design will include an illustration of a grocery store clerk by Aya Brown and will not be a celebration of life as the former bag is, but will be moreso a call to action to protect those serving us. The third bag will represent those who wish to remain anonymous due to retribution, which only more so displays how grocery store employees are fearful not only for their lives, but for their livelihoods. The bag’s design will incorporate a digital print by Efdot which represents hands as one’s contact with the rest of the world. The quote on this bag will read, “Nobody told us, that when the world falls apart, it’s going to fall on our shoulders.” (Bhattarai) which was stated by an employee who spoke in anonymity to protect himself. These bags will represent the trueness in the term “unsung hero” as a description for grocery store clerks, and will fight for the furthering of their rights, rewards, and of just the general compassion towards them. To feel scared of your job is not right, and without the proper resources we will kill our essential workers.

Every American who buys groceries should not only resonate with my monument, but should also be able to have a tangible item that represents their solidarity with grocery store employees. Grocery store workers are seen as essential in this crisis, but have yet to receive an acceptable living wage which reflects all of their hard work. Doctors and medical professionals have a much larger paycheck, and are dubbed as “heroes” in times of crises, but grocery store workers do not have these same luxuries and are often named as “unsung heroes”. To be an unsung hero lately seems to mean that their labor does not match their reward, and these grocery bags will allow for the advocacy of increased paychecks, more comprehensive rules, and true policy reform. These employees could not have imagined that in a crisis, they would be the ones to put their lives at risk and become a front line worker, yet they have been doing just that without proper recognition and pay.

I imagine the public will respond to this monument/project well, as in today’s modern society the public enjoy commodities that prescribe an action or display their stance on certain issues, and I feel as though nobody can deny that this monument not only does a good deed, but is functional as well. This monument is an activist movement in itself, with an extremely simple and effective way to make a difference, which is the direction modern activist movements seem to be heading in. This will be a useful, accessible, and modern take on a monument, and will become revolutionary for underpaid workers across the nation.

Works Cited

Armond, Jason. “Workers at the Ralphs Grocery Store in Westchester Is Implementing Social Distancing Guidelines for Its Customers.” Los Angeles Times, 2020, www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-25/supermarket-clerks-heroes-new-first-responders-coronavirus.

Bhattarai, Abha. “'It Feels like a War Zone': As More of Them Die, Grocery Workers Increasingly Fear Showing up at Work.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 12 Apr. 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/12/grocery-worker-fear-death-coronavirus/.

Brown, Aya. “Instagram.” Instagram, 2020, www.instagram.com/p/B_Gq6UuDb_d/.

Estiler, Keith. “17 Artists Illustrate How to Cope With Coronavirus Pandemic.” HYPEBEAST, HYPEBEAST, 6 Apr. 2020, hypebeast.com/2020/3/coronavirus-art-illustrations-handwashing-social-distancing-exclusive.

Natanson, Hannah. “'Butterfly' and 'Woman Warrior': Mother Mourns Leilani Jordan, Who Died of Coronavirus at 27.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 6 Apr. 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/local/a-butterfly-and-woman-warrior-family-mourns-leilani-jordan-giant-employee-who-died-of-the-virus/2020/04/05/c93620ba-7776-11ea-b6ff-597f170df8f8_story.html?tid=lk_inline_manual_28&itid=lk_inline_manual_28.

O'Kane, Caitlin. “27-Year-Old Grocery Store Clerk Kept Working Because She Wanted to Help People. Then She Died from Coronavirus.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 15 Apr. 2020, www.cbsnews.com/news/grocery-store-worker-leilani-jordan-died-coroanvirus-kept-working-wanted-to-help-people/.