i work(ed) at Soba in Shadyside, which is a part of the Big Burrito restaurant group that also owns Kaya, Casbah, Alta Via, Eleven, and Umi as well as Mad Mex, which has multiple locations in Pittsburgh and surrounding areas.

the general treatment of employees in the past couple of months has been sub-par, pressuring us to return to work once we opened for dine-in, lest we lose our income, unemployment benefits and eligibility for the CARES act, along with our job security.

i've discussed this on here already. well yesterday we got word that one of our coworkers tested positive for covid-19 and shut down the restaurant about ten minutes before we were slated to open for service. we don't know who it is, maybe for HIPAA or confidentiality reasons.

our corporate chef came in shortly after we received the news and talked to us briefly and flippantly, stating that we can't sanitize the building as soon as we'd like because "half the restaurants in Pittsburgh have this problem right now" (the problem being covid)

BUT by Thursday afternoon (ie tomorrow) the place is supposed to be sanitized and ready to open for dine-in, before employees have the chance to get tested and get results. due to the nature of our workplace, the likelihood others have been infected is high.

this is the latest in a chain of decisions by corporate that have left workers and sometimes middle managers in an increasingly tough position, as information is withheld from us and we must decide whether or not to come to work very suddenly

many of my coworkers and workers at other Big Burrito locations have been concerned with how the company is handling the covid-19 crisis, downplaying the real risk of transmission in restaurants- where no matter what protocols are implemented, they can't be universally enforced.

tl;dr don't go out to eat (if places have the audacity to remain open) and don't patronize the Big Burrito corporation. they're egregiously putting profit over people. they haven't offered any sort of paid sick leave or time off to incentivize staying home when sick either.

i scheduled a covid test today and the soonest slot i could get is July 6th. others might not be as lucky. i resigned when my boss told me we're opening tomorrow, saying i wouldn't put myself or anyone else at risk by working without first testing negative.