New York, July 16 (RHC)-- In what many consider to be a reversal in worker's benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic, major U.S. retailers have quietly ended hazard pay for essential workers, even as the U.S. coronavirus epidemic reaches new heights. 

Amazon, Albertsons, Kroger and Stop & Shop have all ended so-called hero pay, even as many workers have seen their risk of infection rise.

In related news, in Joliet, Illinois, more than 700 unionized nurses at Saint Joseph’s Medical Center are in the second week of a strike demanding safe staffing levels amid the pandemic. The nurses say their demands for better nurse-to-patient ratios have been met with illegal intimidation and threats of termination by management.