We have been receiving donations at a greater rate and quantity than we can handle. Inventory is piled up to the ceiling and spilling out on the floors. Pathways get more and more narrow with every day. There is a constant risk of tripping and falling on loose items. Piles can collapse with little effort, spilling bags and boxes filled with anything from clothes and pillows to heavier, harder objects such as shoes, or even glass dishes and metal cookware. Emergency exits are blocked off from excess supplies and items, and even reaching them in a timely manner may be an issue depending on where you are in the back.
We have already been inspected by OSHA at least three times, if not more. This has been a consistent problem since July of last year. Every time we make a dent, it fills over the weekend.
Our managers place unrealistic expectations on us based on the limitations we're working with. We are expected to sort through every single bag and box we receive in order to place individual items hand by hand into the appropriate gaylord, which is then loaded into a trailer, which is switched out with a new trailer at least twice a week. Our trailers often fill up within a day of receiving them, and we can't count on getting a new one as needed, and we never get trailers on Saturday or Sunday, when we need them the most.
Our staff is becoming increasingly bitter and demoralized. It's not uncommon to lose new hires after only a few days on the job. There are days where the responsibilities of Drive Thru -a department that requires a bare minimum of three people- are left to a single person. Corporate staff watches our security camera feed in an empty gesture to understand the problem, while providing no additional help.
Unless we temporarily stop accepting donations, there is no way we can realistically catch up with our massive backlog. Everyone who works in the back firmly believes this. Unfortunately, the only people with the power to make that decision are either unable or unwilling to face the reality of our current situation. read more