Gregory Freeman: Take It From A Clerk Who's Been Robbed: OSHA Plan Is Needed. P-D 4/30/1998

Headline: TAKE IT FROM A CLERK WHO'S BEEN ROBBED: OSHA PLAN IS NEEDED
Reporter: By Gregory Freeman

Publication: ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Last Printed: Thu., Apr. 30, 1998
Section: METRO, Page: B1, Edition: FIVE STAR LIFT

Deadly occupation

Michael Wasserstein has had more than his share of life-threatening experiences.
   Wasserstein, of University City, is a former clerk for a 24-hour convenience store. He was robbed at gunpoint on more than one occasion. "It's incredibly dangerous, " he said. "Usually, I didn't have any trouble. But every so often, someone would come in and rob the place. And there was nothing I could do."
   Wasserstein recalled one incident where a man burst into his store, pointed a gun at him and demanded money. "The guy was on something, " Wasserstein said. "He was shaking and nervous, and I was sure he was going to shoot me."
   Wasserstein said he responded to the robber in a calm manner and explained everything he did before doing it. "I'd say, `I'm going to reach in the cash register to get the money for you, ' " he said. He remained calm, the robber took the money and ordered him not to do anything for 10 minutes. He followed those instructions - and lived.
   But what he did was instinctive, he said. He'd received few guidelines from the convenience store chain on what to do in such emergencies.

That's why Wasserstein says he's gratified that the U.S. Labor Department is taking steps to make late-night convenience stores safer for their employees.
"It's a shame that they didn't come up with them before now, " he said.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced this week recommendations designed to improve the safety of retail clerks.

Clerks at convenience stores and other retail outlets are gunned down in such numbers that their jobs rank among the most dangerous in America. Store clerks make up about half of the more than 900 people who were killed on the job in 1996, according to OSHA. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 18,000 clerks are victims of assaults each year.
A majority of those robbers walk out with less than $50.

OSHA's suggestions are nonbinding, but they're being hailed as the first recommendations made by the government in this area.
"Clerks are victims because they're easy marks, " said Wasserstein, who's gotten out of the convenience store business "because I value my personal safety."

Despite strong objections from the industry, OSHA is recommending that retail outlets with a history of crime use bulletproof glass or employ at least two clerks at night. The agency is also suggesting that retail stores keep a minimum of cash on hand, use drop safes, keep their windows clear of obstructions, have good lighting, train workers in how to behave during an armed robbery and use security cameras.

Retailers are disturbed by OSHA's intrusion into their area. For several years, they've asserted that crime is not an occupational issue and that the safety recommendations are an unwanted intrusion by government.
Indeed, two years ago, the National Association of Convenience Stores contributed heavily to congressional political campaigns and persuaded 108 members of congress to write to OSHA objecting to the issuance of proposed guidelines.
They killed the effort, and the guidelines weren't put on the front burner again until last year, after OSHA chief Charles Jeffress took over.

While retailers continue to insist that there is no scientific evidence that having two or more clerks in a store at night deters robbers, Wasserstein strongly disagrees.
"I was always by myself when I was robbed, " he said. "If a robber thinks there's only one person there, he's more likely to think he can get away with it. It's the same reason why supermarkets are rarely robbed."

Wasserstein says he's pleased but surprised by OSHA's position.
"People who work in convenience stores are at the low end of the economic spectrum, " he said. "They're not powerful people. It's gratifying that someone is speaking up for them.
"It's just too bad the convenience stores aren't the ones doing it."

Daniel Schesch - Webweaver

back