Managers should be enforcing retail store mask policies, hiring security guards if necessary, and not leave workers to deal with increasingly violent customers who refuse to abide by the policy, said the president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union on Wednesday. The declaration comes after an increasing number of incidents where cashiers, store clerks, and customers have had altercations with customers who have refused to wear masks. Some workers have been assaulted, others have had guns pulled on them, and a furor arose in a Minnesota Walmart when two customers came in wearing masks bearing the swastika symbol. The union president said that employers have been afraid of losing customers as well as trying to avoid an issue that is seen as political.
See "Retail union leader says managers should enforce mask policy, not front line workers", Joe Murphy and Corky Siemaszko, NBC News, July 31, 2020