I was close to boycotting Winco over masking laxity; I still have new second thoughts about the company

I've long been a fan of Winco Discount Foods, and was glad to find out that, when I moved closer to the Metromess than I've been since I left it, that Denton had one.

For the unaware? Winco, which not perfect, has some of the best of Aldi, some of the best of Kroger, and some of the best of Central Market.

Versus Aldi? It has a much more robust house lines brand, and much of it cheaper. PLUS? Other than Aldi's generic Triscuits, it sells nothing whole wheat and sells no brown rice. I can get house brand whole wheat pastas at Winco for 79 cents a pound. Brown rice for 50 cents a pound. And, in the bulk area, whole wheat berries and whole oat groats. Hold on to that.

Versus Kroger? Unlike Aldi, it has a full produce section. It also has more refrigerated and frozen items, including, for those who imbibe, a full range of beers.

Versus Central Market? While its bulk food area is not quite as complete, it's well ahead of any Kroger that sells bulk foods. A good assortment of spices. House brand whole bean coffee is pretty good. Spelt, teff and farro flours, which even most Central Markets don't have. And, for junk food fans? About as much bulk candy.

That said? Last Saturday, people were coming in without masks, and I'm not sure I recall it clearly posted.

I talked to the clerk who mans the self-serve checkouts. She talked to the Hispanic person who had just entered, and I used my rudimentary Spanish as well. She waited while her daughter, sister or whomever went to their car and got one.

OK. Problem solved.

Then, I noticed a very Anglo Karen-type well into the store. I loud-spoke, but short of yelled, at her. No response. Went to said clerk. She did an intercom announcement.

I saw Karen again at the back of the store. I yelled at her this time. Still nothing.

Well, Winco was out of house brand whole wheat pasta, which was my biggest want, and I'd already hit Kroger. So, after seeing nobody at the customer service desk, I left.

And, Twitter-messaged and Facebook-posted to Winco's accounts.

And, I got shit-weaselness on both.

First, Twitter, to which I did not respond.

Hi there! Thank you for contacting us to share your experience. We can confirm that face coverings are required of all our employees until further notice. In regards to the public, we are following all local mandates in the areas where we operate at this time and will refuse service where directly required to do so. We highly encourage everyone to review applicable mandates and CDC guidance before visiting our store, since each individual is personally responsible for compliance - please note that medical exemptions may apply. With that said, our leaders continue to review this topic and the possibility of requiring masks of our customers company-wide. We can't make specific guarantees but will gladly include your feedback! Have a great day!

OK, lemme see. First, I didn’t mention employees.

On local mandates? Let’s translate based on Facebook, where I did respond.

Hi Snyder, we appreciate you sharing and for notifying an employee there at the store. While we encourage face coverings for the public (employees are required), we do follow city mandates. We do not see our Denton location listed that they have to require masks; please note we also follow the list of mask exemptions outlined by the city mandate.

In other words, per Facebook, if the city of Denton and Denton County don’t order businesses to require masks, they’re going to take a very loose definition of Gov. Abbott’s order and a very liberal, or libertarian, belief in the ability of people to social distance inside a grocery store.

I posted selections from Abbott’s order in response.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas, by virtue of the power and authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the State of Texas, do hereby order the following on a statewide basis effective at 12:0 1 p.m. on July 3, 2020:

Every person in Texas shall wear a face covering over the nose and mouth when inside a commercial entity or other building or space open to the public, or when in an outdoor public space, wherever it is not feasible to maintain six feet of social distancing from another person not in the same household.

I don’t believe it’s feasible in a grocery store.

As for Winco corporately “continuing to review” the issue?

My local Wally, in a place much smaller than Denton, was “strongly encouraging” masks with door attendants when Abbott announced his order, and before Wally made the nationwide order. My local Tom Thumb interpreted his order as requiring masks. Hell, the dollar store next door to me does. And since then, Tom Thumb and Randall's parent Albertsons has required masks, as has HEB.

As for the Twitter response? We “will refuse service where directly required to do so”? So, does that mean I have to chase a Karen all the way around the store, get a clerk to be with me and then say: “Refuse her service”?

As for “medical exceptions may apply”? Lawyers who know their shit already say that a person claiming a medical exception does NOT have an automatic Americans with Disabilities Act right to enter a store. Curb service/takeout or delivery are the first two options a grocer or other retailer can offer.

So, with all of this, I will likely be in Denton next Satruday, as normal. Whether I actually need anything or not, if I remember, I will look for a “masks required” sign. I don’t recall seeing one. If I remember to check, and clearly don’t see one? Boycott is official.

That said, per its website, which I checked as I was writing this? Winco has now accepted reality and as of today is requiring masks. Perhaps the power of complaints, or even threats of boycotts, did something?

As another person said in the same thread on Winco's Facebook page, they thought Winco was better. Being employee-owned, I did, too. But, per DeSmog blog writing about their infilitration into Bakken oilfield companies, Three Percenters might own a company. Employee ownership itself really doesn't mean much.

In Winco's case, though, because, since we're owned by employees, that means our employees have the final say on everything and love us, or similar bullshit, it means being officially antiunion. Not just nonunion. Antiunion. Elsewhere, the company notes it has some select union contracts, like meatcutters. Flip side of that is that it's basically impossible to hire a meatcutter without a union, so this isn't something totally voluntary by Winco. One should note that a number of the longest-serving employees are millionaires. And, Winco has a corporate incentive to pay employees a fair amount wages rather than in ESOP ownership, while using the claim of "the employees own us" as proof there's no need for a union.

Erm, wrong!

It's a warehouse with membership fees, and being single, I'd never recoup them, but ...

Costco pays employees even better and is definitely union-friendly. And, on the flip side? Walmart, while not employee owned, does offer stock options. And pays like crap, all things considered.

This all said, unions aren't perfect. Hell, police unions are teaching us that by the day. But they do have their value still in many cases.

Finally on this issue for now? Knowing that Winco was started in Boise, and knowing the Mormon Church's "storied" antiunion history, I wonder if that's lurking in the background.