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Last week, California CVS workers who are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers union voted to go on strike to protest unsafe work environments and understaffed stores. Every day, these workers face the same question as other Californians in November’s election: How do we address challenges facing retail stores and make our communities safer?
My parents owned a small corner store in Northern California, and growing up, I saw the struggles of running a business with tight profit margins while trying to prevent theft. Now, as Director of the Grocery and Retail Campaign for the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, I fight for retail workers who are demanding safer conditions, better wages, and real solutions to workplace issues.
Californians are currently being inundated with claims that Proposition 36 addresses community safety by enforcing harsher penalties for low-level offenses like shoplifting. But this measure won’t solve the problems retail workers and business owners face. Instead of helping, Prop 36 is more likely to punish vulnerable communities, while doing little to reduce theft.
What actually worked for my parents to reduce crime in their store wasn’t harsher punishment—it was ensuring that someone was always present on the floor to assist customers and deter potential theft. They built relationships with their community, which helped prevent incidents before they happened.
The solutions that were effective for my parents are also proven to work in big box stores. To stop retail theft, we must address staff shortage. It’s much easier to steal when no one is working on the floor. The rise of self-checkout has only increased opportunities for theft. Lowe’s, for example, invested in its staff and technological solutions and has seen a corresponding decrease in theft at its stores.
In my conversations with retail employees, a common theme emerges: Understaffing leaves cashiers feeling unsafe. With adequate staff, workers could better monitor aisles, deter theft and build meaningful relationships with customers. Proper staffing also creates a more positive shopping experience for customers. It means stores can unlock merchandise, building a more welcoming atmosphere while effectively deterring theft.
We need to invest in improving workers’ quality of life instead of relying on punitive measures that do not address the root causes of crime. California already has some of the harshest penalties in the country for shoplifting—including Texas, South Carolina and Wisconsin.
Research shows sending people to prison for longer won’t prevent the type of scenes we recently saw at a 7-Eleven on Hollywood Boulevard. Instead of targeting sophisticated crime rings, Prop 36 will disproportionately punish Black and Brown Californians. One study revealed that Black people arrested for comparable offenses face organized retail theft charges at over twice the rate of white people.
Targeting the resale of stolen goods on online marketplaces like eBay or Amazon is another way to reduce theft, because it would cut off a key source of demand, discouraging theft at the root. And we can assist people who steal out of desperation by using community navigator programs—which have had success in New York and Ohio—to connect people with resources such as treatment and housing.
Californians have every right to want safer communities, and retail workers deserve to feel secure on the job. But Prop 36 misses the mark by focusing on punishment rather than prevention. If we really want to make a difference, we need to invest in staffing, security and community programs that address the root causes of retail crime. Let’s move forward with solutions that work, not outdated policies that will only make the problem worse.
Amardeep Gill is the Director of Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy’s Grocery and Retail Campaign
