||| FROM LEARNER LIMBACH, ORCAS FOOD CO-OP GENERAL MANAGER |||


In light of the mask mandate related protest that took place on Monday, January 31, in Eastsound, I’d like to take the opportunity to share this statement from myself and on behalf of Orcas Food Co-op. This statement summarizes the values that have shaped the co-op’s response throughout the pandemic, as well as our thoughts and views regarding Monday’s events. In the days following the event I did my best to learn as much as possible about what took place because I understand how volatile these things can be, and because I care deeply about our community and everyone involved.

While we fully support free speech and peaceful assembly, Orcas Food Co-op denounces the actions of going to schools, medical establishments and businesses, as well as the actions of those individuals who disregarded the state mandate and the safety of workers and customers by entering into businesses unmasked and creating a confrontation and disruption. This action went against the cooperative values and we believe that there are more constructive ways to express one’s beliefs or views to foster open dialogue, mutual respect and community-building.

On a close to home note – Regina Zwilling, the Office Manager at the Co-op, attended part of the event. Upon learning about this, I conducted an investigation into Regina’s involvement, and also spoke in depth with Regina. The following is based on what I have learned so far: Regina did not enter any businesses or support anyone else entering a business or being confrontational. Regina went to support and advocate for medical autonomy for people and she understands the group crossed that line and infringed on other people’s medical autonomy by going to the schools, medical establishments and businesses unmasked. The event got out of hand. Regina sincerely apologizes and deeply regrets the impact the event had on the community and those directly affected.

A flyer was distributed during the event inviting people to learn more about the “Orcas Freedom Team” by emailing Regina or joining another group Concerned Citizens of SJC. Regina has never been part of something called the “Orcas Freedom Team.” However, she has been one of the point people for information in the Concerned Citizens of SJC on Telegram. Following the January 31st events she has stepped away from that role. She has never been an administrator or leader of Concerned Citizens of SJC.

We recognize there is a lot of passion as well as frustration we are all feeling after two years of this pandemic, whatever our views may be. We empathize with the desire, and need, of those voices outside of the mainstream to have their views heard. As a society we are, hopefully, about to turn the corner on this pandemic journey and return to something more like normal life. This is not a time to create further division. We need to work together on the enormous environmental and societal challenges we are faced with, for example, climate change, ensuring that people have safe and secure housing and fixing our democracy.

My plea to those involved in Monday’s events is that you hold yourselves and each other accountable and take lessons from this experience so that future peaceful assemblies indeed remain peaceful and respectful. Our hope for everyone reading this is that you practice compassion and empathy for each other and remember that we share far more in common than we have in differences.

Cooperative Values
Throughout the pandemic, the Values of Cooperation have never been more important. They are: self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity. Taken together, the Cooperative Values encourage taking responsibility for oneself, as well as caring for one’s community (solidarity, equity, equality).  These qualities are the essence of a healthy democracy. They compel us toward compromise when we disagree on issues we feel strongly about. They ask of us to practice listening and empathy when we encounter viewpoints and life experiences that are different than our own. They urge us to come together around a common purpose, while allowing our diverse individuality to be a source of collective strength rather than a cause for conflict and division. One of the central goals of the co-op is to provide “an atmosphere where staff, customers and members treat one another with warmth and respect.” We believe that everyone has a right to work in an environment where they feel safe and cared for, and that our customers deserve to be able to safely shop for their groceries and supplies.

Employees and customers at all businesses and institutions deserve the same.

Co-op Pandemic Response
 Orcas Food Co-op has shown leadership in response to the pandemic throughout. All Orcas Food Co-op employees have been united in adhering to the most strict masking and other safety policies of all the food establishments on Orcas. The enthusiasm and dedication of the 30+ co-op staff to serve the community throughout the pandemic has been and continues to be inspiring and exemplary.

When the pandemic began, we closed our doors to in-store shopping for three months to keep the community and our staff safe when transmissibility was more of a mystery. We closed the doors to enable us to focus our full energy on establishing a system for online ordering for curbside pickup and delivery, (the only store to do that on island). Since then we have fulfilled over 12,000 curbside and delivery orders. We’ve kept those programs going for months, even when there were no active Covid cases on Orcas , knowing we would need the system in place if and when we had another surge. The curbside and delivery program is labor intensive and not profitable when demand is lower, but we have remained committed to this service. We have worked extra long days, often on the verge of exhaustion and burnout, keeping our community safe, which has proven to be invaluable in this latest Omicron wave.  (If you need curbside pickup or delivery visit www.orcasfood.coop/shop)

After re-opening for in-store shopping in the summer of 2020, we maintained stringent sanitization standards, requiring an immense amount of extra labor. We were constantly updating ourselves and our staff and our community with the most current safety practices. Early on, we provided one of the very few warm water hand washing stations for customer use, trying to help minimize the overuse of germicides.

When the mask mandate was lifted temporarily we continued requiring all staff to wear mask sat the Co-op, and were among the first to call for a re-establishment of the full mask mandate for customers. We also helped get other businesses onboard, and printed up signs to inform customers of the reinstated mask mandate, when that quickly came about.

Staff at the co-op are required to mask up even in the back office work areas if sharing a room with another employee, even if they are more than 6 feet apart.

During the entire pandemic we have asked staff to not come into work with even the slightest of symptoms, and have incentivized this with additional sick pay, so no one has had to choose between staying home when sick and earning a paycheck. We’ve encouraged staff to be careful and to stay safe in their personal lives as a way to care for not only themselves, their fellow employees, but also the co-op and community as a whole.

Because of co-op policies and the diligence and care of co-op staff, we have had only two employees test positive in the past two years, and not as a result from being at work. Both cases were isolated and neither resulted in any transmission to other staff or customers.

Throughout the pandemic, as the General Manager, I couldn’t be more proud of the way that every member of the co-op team has worked cohesively in support of the shared goal of caring for our community, all while being short-staffed and working in potentially hazardous conditions every day. We all support one another and co-op policies support us all to feel safe and cared for. In our 2021 anonymous staff survey (which had 100% participation), a high percentage of staff (84%) either agreed or strongly agreed with the statements “I believe the co-op will put my health and safety first when making decisions about the risk of COVID19.” and “I am proud of how the co-op has adapted to meet the needs of our community in response to COVID-19.” Having 84% agreement about anything is a pretty great accomplishment!

Lastly, I would like to express my deepest gratitude for all the Orcas Food Co-op members. We’ve been through so much these past two years, and, really, for the past eight years since opening our doors. Your support is the reason the co-op is here today. Our community would not be the same without the co-op, and our co-op would not be the same without you being a part of it.


 

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