Honoring International Pronouns Day

To Our Community,

Today I would like to share several updates with you, then close with an important message on celebrating individual identity.

Federal Vaccine Mandate

As you know, last month the Biden administration mandated that all companies with at least 100 employees require mandatory vaccination or weekly testing for the unvaccinated. The administration tasked the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to finalize the guidelines and timeline for the mandate to take effect.

OSHA’s final recommendations have now gone to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval. We expect to read more details in the next several weeks. In the meantime, we now have a reported fully vaccinated rate of 81% at the Co-op.

Co-op Kitchen

The Co-op Kitchen is moving to a Monday–Saturday schedule. Reallocating our resources will enable us to better fulfill our daily production schedules and ensure that we can meet the needs of the stores and customers.

International Pronouns Day

Below is an important message from Lori Hildbrand, Director of Administrative Operations, about International Pronouns Day. Thank you to Lori for bringing this important day and topic to our attention.

Wednesday, October 20, 2021, is International Pronouns Day. What does this mean? It is a day to bring our attention to how we can make educating, sharing and respecting the use of personal pronouns commonplace. Referring to people by the pronouns they determine for themselves is basic to human dignity.

Being referred to by the wrong pronouns can affect everyone, and particularly transgender and gender nonconforming people. Together, we can transform society to celebrate people’s multiple, intersecting identities. International Pronouns Day began in 2018 and takes place on the 3rd Wednesday of October each year.

In keeping with this day, we are pleased to announce that preferred pronoun stickers will be available in all locations. Employees who wish to share their preferred pronoun on their name badge now have a simple way to do so.

Wrap Up

As always, thank you to all of our members and shoppers for your continued support, and feel free to reach out to me anytime. We will talk again next Thursday. Be kind to one another and to yourselves, and we look forward to serving you in our stores and at the curbside.

Onward and upward,

Paul

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Paul Guidone

Paul Guidone, CFA, spent the better part of four decades in the investment management business here and abroad. He held positions ranging from analyst through Deputy Chairman and Group CEO, at organizations such as Citigroup (US) and The HSBC Group (London and Hong Kong). He joined the Co-op in 2016 as the CFO and in 2018 became Strategic Advisor to the General Manager. Paul was appointed by the Co-op Board as interim General Manager in March 2020 and General Manager in September 2020. To contact, email PGuidone@coopfoodstore.com.

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