TL;DR My DM is a Trump supporter who runs a district in one of the worst Covid-19 hotspots in the country and is reopening our stores even while the partners and managers are asking her not to.

Hi, I’ve never posted here before (this is a throwaway for reasons that should become clear) but I’m dealing with a tough situation in my store/district.

I am a shift at the oldest store in my area. It is smaller than any other store around with a narrow 10-14 foot by 40 ft lobby space and even less room behind the bar. The city that this is in is the second or third hardest hit place in my state by Covid-19. My state is also in the top 3 worst states as far as case numbers, deaths, and still increasing cases goes.

To drive the above home, I have personally had more than 5 members of my immediate family get Covid-19 with some being hospitalized and still sick months later. My store, as well as multiple others in this district, have been shut down a number of times now because of positive tests with partners.

Here’s where it gets bad, my DM moved all stores in our district into phase two of reopening last month, which means lobby opened with limited seating, ability to order inside, restrooms open, and patio seating fully open. I’ve already been put into a position more than once where I have had to confront customers who would not wear a mask while in the lobby and kick them out as I live in a very conservative/religious state/area where a large portion of the population do not believe the pandemic is real.

My DM is also a Trump supporter, which undeniably means she is less likely to believe that the pandemic is real or as bad as it is. She talks like she does but her actions say otherwise. I have had to explain to her in the past how masks work as she spent several minutes explaining to me how customers didn’t need to wear masks as long as the partners did because that would keep us completely safe. I do not trust her. I have no faith that she is making these decisions based on reality or fact. She is putting myself and everyone in our district in danger based on her misguided outlook of the situation. I have talked to everyone in my store and they all feel unsafe (including my SM).

I’m just looking to vent first and foremost but also, any insight on what I should or could do would be appreciated.