Tragic Violence at Wendy's is All Too Common in Retail

Many people are unaware just how dangerous retail work is; it's a topic the the industry doesn't like to talk about. Let's take a look at the Wendy's fast food hamburger chain over the last week or so.

Fire rescue worker Raphael "Ray" Vazquez was slain in a shooting on Monday at a Wendy's hamburger restaurant in Florida. Four other customers were injured by the gunfire. The employees at the store miraculously escaped physical injury though psychological trauma is likely.

The day before, two Wendy's employees in Illinois were robbed at gunpoint and forced into a freezer by two masked men.

The day after the shooting spree in Florida, a drive-through employee at a California Wendy's was confronted by a robber with a gun.

Last week, a worker at a Wendy's in Oregon was beaten by an armed robber.

351 retail workers in the United States suffered fatal injuries on the job in 2006, the last year for which government data was available. As a point of reference, 190 workers died in the mining industry in 2006, the year of the tragedy at the Sago Mine.

138 of the deaths in retail were due to homicide.

The real risk of violence on the job for retail workers is yet another reason why their economic and social contributions deserve respect.

How to help the family of Wendy's shooting victim Ray Vazquez:

P.B.C. Firefighters Benevolent Fund

Care of Vazquez Family

Union Office

2328 S. Congress Ave.

Suite 2C

Palm Springs, FL 33406