Retail workers face unsafe conditions, union leader says after grocery-store employee stabbed

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This article was published 01/12/2023 (676 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A No Frills employee was stabbed by an alleged shoplifter at a Winnipeg store Wednesday, sparking a union grievance amid nationwide concerns about escalating thefts and violence against retail workers.

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 832 claims the grocery store — owned by a franchisee and part of a Loblaw Co. Ltd. chain — failed a legal obligation to provide a safe workplace for staff.

“Our retail locations… are becoming more and more dangerous for customers and people who work there because we don’t have significant protections to make sure workers are safe,” said Local 832 president Jeff Traeger.

The stabbing victim — a woman — remained in hospital with serious injuries Friday, while the Winnipeg Police Service sought tips to help locate a male suspect.

Police released a surveillance image of a man in connection with the investigation.

“We just can’t emphasize enough how unfortunate it is when incidents of theft escalate to this extreme,” said spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen.

Police believe a staff member approached the suspect before the victim was stabbed, he said.

Traeger said the union is gathering details as part of the grievance that was filed Thursday.

He was told the alleged shoplifter had some kind of “interaction” with a security guard, went to the back of the store and stabbed the employee.

The assailant ran off before officers arrived at the West End store, located at 600 Notre Dame Ave., at about 8:45 p.m.

“It was absolutely awful,” Traeger said. “From what I know, the employee was not specifically trying to stop (the suspect).”

A worker who called the incident “scary” told the Free Press the shoplifter was trying to leave with a bag filled with meat.

Witness Lynn Watson was browsing an aisle near the back of the store when she heard shouting. As she approached, she saw about five people standing with the victim near the front entrance.

“I saw the lady there holding her chest and then I heard someone say she got stabbed,” said Watson, who was told the weapon was a knife.

People grabbed what appeared to be napkins and applied pressure to the woman’s wound.

Watson said she noticed a bag on the floor with food and a toothbrush on the floor next to it.

She said the employee, who gave her age as 59 while being helped, was lowered onto the floor by those who came to her aid.

The victim told them she wanted to call her daughter and she felt like she was going to lose consciousness, said Watson.

“I started crying because it was terrible to see her like that,” she said. “I was worrying for the last couple of days, if she was going to be OK.”

Police officers applied a chest seal while providing emergency medical care to the victim. Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service members arrived and treated the woman, Watson said.

The victim’s condition has since been upgraded from unstable to stable in hospital. The store is located close to Health Sciences Centre.

Loblaw — Canada’s biggest grocery chain — and the franchise owner declined to comment.

Police are asking people with information about the suspect to call the major crimes unit at 204-986-6219 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-8477.

The stabbing has cast a spotlight on retail thefts and violence against workers.

Traeger said UFCW has had discussions with Ontario-based Loblaw and other companies about safety and how to better protect staff.

He said thefts are on the rise due, in part, to inflation-driven price increases.

“It’s creating dangerous situations for our workers in those stores because those folks (shoplifters) are obviously desperate,” he said, adding bigger grocery chains tend to instruct their staff not to interfere or attempt to stop thieves, he said.

The safety of staff and customers is the priority when thefts occur, Michalyshen said.

“It’s life before property every single time,” he said. “Whether you’re law enforcement or a member of the public, you just never know what sort of state an individual might be in. You just don’t know what their mindset is. Things can escalate very quickly.”

According to an annual report, the WPS received 4,155 reports of shoplifting under $5,000 in 2022, which was a 37 per cent increase compared with 2021 and almost 18 per cent lower than the five-year average.

The clearance rate was just under 25 per cent.

Retail Council of Canada spokeswoman Michelle Wasylyshen said thefts have increased across all categories — from food to clothing — but much of it goes unreported.

She cited rising inflation, a growing resale market for stolen food and an increase in organized crime as some of the contributors.

RCC members have said, on average, thefts involving some form of violence have soared by more than 300 per cent in the last four years, said Wasylyshen.

“Theft is often thought of as a victimless crime, but it’s not,” she wrote in an email. “It costs Canadian retailers billions of dollars a year, costs that are passed on to all consumers when they go shopping.”

The trade association instructs employees to never approach or try to apprehend a shoplifter or robber.

Scott Clement, who owns Dakota Family Foods in St. Vital, said thefts and violence against his staff have increased.

In the past, shoplifters were mostly embarrassed or remorseful when caught, he said. These days, they tend to become aggressive or threatening.

Clement said the store has added more security cameras.

“The last thing we want is violence against staff,” he said.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca