||| 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.
**If you are reading theOrcasonian for free, thank your fellow islanders. If you would like to support theOrcasonian CLICK HERE to set your modestly-priced, voluntary subscription. Otherwise, no worries; we’re happy to share with you.**
So you bullied an employee for a thought crime?
Bravo for such leadership at the Co-op! And, while Orcas presents itself as a slice of paradise and unified supportive community, there is clearly a part of the island population that feels no such shared commitment or responsibility to others. Kind of like the rest of the “United” States….
Learner, thank you for your thoughts and leadership. The Orcas Food Coop continues to hold the highest regard for its’ members, and our community. It certainly has been a long two years and we are not yet through the winter months to see how things may evolve. We know that masks reduce harm, and that many islanders have chosen to be vaccinated, which certainly has reduced the morbidity rates we might be seeing.
Thank you!
Thank you for your informational and well-thought-out response to this frustrating issue.
Thanks everyone for your comments. Phil, I’m not here to fight but to bring people together. If you did just a little bit of due diligence you would know that no bullying has occurred at all. I love and support Regina, as a fellow human as well as a wonderful co-worker and contributing community member. We all need to stand up to the bullying going on from either direction in my opinion.
Surprised to see one of your kind, caring, open hearted employees being bullied by a fearful and angry mob. Perhaps you should be the one to respect others medical autonomy and take a stand for everyone’s right to choose the healthcare practices that are right for them. But you don’t! Instead, you chose to throw Regina under the bus to calm their rage. You can do better!
In times like these, do remember that we are all different souls, manifesting on this planet at this time. This Country, the United States Of America, was founded upon the principals of freedom of thought, among other things, which has been the Strength of our country. Freedom of speech, of action, is guaranteed under our constitution, as you all know. We may not all agree with certain ideas or actions, under various circumstances. It is concerning for me, as I watch this Covid Fear Porn rollout across the world, as well as here. Yes, I know of people who have died. And I’ve known people, over the years, who have died from other flu epidemics. But to lock down our country for this, is the ultimate control over people’s minds and souls, that I have witnessed up to now in my eight decades. Remember that FEAR is contagious, as is COURAGE, STRENGTH, and WILL. Fear was rolled out across the world, regarding this flu. I remember in the 1950’s when the first flu, that I remember, came across the world, without the hysterical fear-porn being peddled, now. People loose their lives, every year, especially the elderly, in the wintertime from the flu and colds. Fear is a very stressful emotion, and I have found that inner strength is needed in times like this. I urge you all, if you so choose, to put fear in the drawer somewhere. Eat well, get rest, get sunlight, when we have it. And embrace Life in all her beauty and love, each and every day. Bless you all, Spirit Eagle.
It is super challenging to not respond to untruths being propagated. There is so much “bait” to engage in…I will resist addressing the name calling, or shaming, or accusatory tone, from either perspective.
Thank you Learner, for up-holding cooperative principles. Thank you for being an awesome boss/co-worker to Regina (and myself!…and all the staff at the Co-op). Thank you for caring so much about this community, defending individual rights for all to express their opinions, including those that may differ from your own, and their right to peaceably assemble. Thank you for up-holding and defending the rights of all who felt unsafe, and trespassed upon. My hope is that we can remember to be respectful and kind, and that we are all neighbors in this island community. In honor of Black History Month, I quote Martin Luther King Jr. ” Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude”
Bravo Learner. I’m sorry your employee is being affected apparently by association with this group and some individual’s actions. You and your staff have always provided us with a safe and healthy place to shop. As upsetting as all of this is, thank you for this clarification (for those who needed it). It feels far more heartfelt and genuine than the other communication on Facebook from a member of the protest group IMHO.
Thanks for a thoughtful letter, Learner. I saw no one “thrown under the bus” in your article or considered anything you wrote as “bullying.” Regina was right to try to convince others not to enter area businesses to purposely violate their masking rules and upset their workplaces during a peaceful march. Bravo for standing up for Regina, Learner.
So does Regina work at the Co-op unmasked?
These people need to understand that violation of civil health directives in the faces of others is a form of assault. Think about it, folks. Do you really feel comfortable pointing to a business and saying “I’m going to go in there and threaten with bodily harm everyone in that building.” Do you think no one in is going to fight back? Are you sure you will be safe?
Maybe the mob going in believes that no one in the building will perceive their act as aggressive and life-threatening? Think again.
Thank you, Learner. I support Orcas Food coop and will continue to shop there, gratefully and happily; as I will continue to shop at Island Market for other things the coop doesn’t have.
As for the rest; I don’t know how to respond to some of the other comments here on both ‘sides.’ – None of us knows what happened between Learner and Regina, so I don’t understand assuming bullying by Learner; or lumping all unvaccinated people into people who feel “no shared commitment or responsibility to others;” as much of the Orcas Community has done and is doing. What cock-and-bull!
Let’s talk TO each other. Not AT and ABOUT each other, can we please? Words are weapons, or they can heal. If Regina wants to come forward with her direct experience, that would be a different situation than what we know now; but the facts are that she distanced herself from the actions of entering businesses.
What interests me more, is listening to, and understanding the WHY of anyone’s actions; even if we disagree with them. It seems the real issues are not being discussed; the feelings, on both sides of the issue, of feeling physically and psychologically violated.
I am unvaxxed. I understand the frustration and desperation people feel about not only not being listened to or heard, but about their economic ruin and their right to body sovereignty and freedom, of speech, and wanting to protect children from masking all day and this vaccine. I have no business drawing the line for anyone else;. I can only know where my own line is; and it changes as the science changes, and the constant news coming out from sources I respect, that are as apolitical as i am. This takes a LOT of time and research to ferret out unbiased investigative journalism. Most are not willing or can’t afford to take that time.
There is a lot of collective hurt going around. Lots of social outcasting and rejecting by people who were once friends; who I thought I knew.. Cargo ships of self-righteousness and smug self superiority, “embarrassment” at others’ behaviors- even though those same people are hypocrites by how they are acting – ridiculing, blaming, shaming., and the like. There are truckloads of blaming. It’s all so ugly. I’m not ’embarrassed’ by that kind of behavior. I am anxious, nauseated, horrified, sad. I can’t get rid of that upset to my whole system; my stomach churns. I can’t sleep. It affects me psychologically. I do not feel safe.
How short-sighted and intolerant it seems to punish a business that has done an exemplary job keeping shelves filled and this community supplied. How did they do this? They went to the mainland in small vans, and picked up food and supplies themselves – for us. They offered curbside and home delivery service – for us. To threaten boycotting a member-owned coop for what an employee did, (or in this case, didn’t do) is shooting yourself in the foot, as well as the rest of us.
Realize, please, that huge as the issues around the pandemic are, there are much bigger players at play, manipulating us, or attempting to. We are becoming a global surveillance police state – including thought police. The global protests are about that – and about how the pandemic is yet another smokescreen to what is really being laid out for us all. You can find all the information you need to draw your own conclusions right on the websites of the global economic forum.
Kill the canaries if you must. But remember us when you become the next canaries.
Eric – No. I guess you didn’t read the whole statement (I don’t blame you since it was so long…) so here is that part: “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.”
Thank-you, Learner, for your leadership of the Orcas Food Coop during these extremely difficult times. My gratitude to you and the coop staff is unbounded. That anyone could find anything other than kindness and community spirit in your letter shows the depths of our divisions.
Sadie, are you also anti-vax? Would you be willing to pay for the medical treatment of anyone you happened to infect as a cost for your decision? Do you consider spreading a potentially lethal virus assault? Would you feel the same if we were talking about measels, polio, typhiod, AIDS, Dengue, or leprosy? Do you see any need for citizens to set aside their own personal preferences for the betterment of our community, society or country, or it just what each person wants as an individual without regard to others? The answers to these root questions are what is currently dividing our country. Do your personal rights actually come with any responsibilities attached? I have always respected you and what you do but admit I am surprised that you feel no trust in medical science. Does that go for all medical science or just the vaccine?
Thank You, Sadie, for your thoughtful and succinct comments on this issue. It seems to be fear that rules at this time, which makes the population fairly easily controlled. Unfortunately, people are afraid and then attack their friends and neighbors, because of that fear. Research, deep research, will alleviate a lot of the fear Porn that is keeping the population of the world easily controlled. We are great and powerful spiritual beings who have lost our own commitment to ourselves, and as such, can be easily manipulated by the so-called “powers that be”. Panic is contagious, as we all can attest to for the last two years, and it is completely unnecessary. Peace, Be Still, and Go Within all. At this time, please remember, that instead of attacking different viewpoints, please go within, to that still place, and connect with your Creator. Love you all, Spirit Eagle.
Thank you, Learner Limbach, for working to protect the community, your customers and your employees.
Your caring and sensitivity are admirable, Learner.
Thank you Lerner. As an elderly oldster I appreciate the care you and your employees have taken to assure us all that we will not acquire a sickness through your store. I think that the public, all of the public, goes along with the idea that the food we get from stores is safe. That does not just include the latest virus but bacteria as well, isn’t that right? There are clean standards stores must uphold according to law for everyone’s protection. How is it that all that has gone before this time is not taken into account? You are doing a great job under incredibly trying times. It is obvious you care for your customers, coop members, and especially your employees. Thank you!
Ms. Bailey / Spirit Eagle – something from the days of the Old Republic, when we were free;
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive it to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, 1927
@Neil Kaye; Are you on Orcas? I’d be happy to answer your questions, but feel I would be hijacking Learner’s letter and its intent. I have nothing to hide. The questions you ask are sort of black and white, and my answers would be more nuanced.
Thank you , Learner and thanking the majority of Orcas Island citizenry for maintaining a spirit of kindred community.
Learner – Thank you for your thoroughness, thoughtfulness, and care of the community, it is greatly appreciated by so many islanders.