Whole Foods, Give Worker With Special Needs Son Her Job Back
- by: Kristina Chew
- recipient: Whole Foods
We, the undersigned, demand that Rhiannon Broschat, the mother of a 10-year-old son with special needs, be rehired by Whole Foods Market.
Broschat had been working at Whole Foods in the Chicago area for about two years when she faced a dilemma that all working mothers of chilldren with disabilities face. On January 8, the Chicago Public Schools cancelled classes due to dangerously cold weather. Broschat, a single mother who is also a full-time student, was scheduled to work. As she had no one to care for her son -- you can't just ask anyone to watch a child with disabilities and especially on short notice -- she had no choice but to stay at home with her son.
Broschat called her employer to explain the situation. The next day, she was informed that she was fired.
Now Broschat is fighting to get her job back. She's got the support of the Chicago Teachers Union and also of her co-workers, who joined her in a recent protest outside Whole Foods’ Midwest regional headquarters.
About 40 people joined that protest. But in reality, Broschat has many supporters who, like her and like me, are the mothers of children with special needs who work. All working mothers have their hands full juggling childcare with their jobs. Mothers of children with disabilities face the added challenges of finding any one at all to care for a son or daughter who may (like my son) have multiple communication, behavioral and medical issues. It's simply impossible to find such a person on the spur of the moment.
Stand with Rhiannon Broschat and sign this petition to demand that Whole Foods reinstate her!
We, the undersigned, demand that Rhiannon Broschat, the mother of a 10-year-old son with special needs, be rehired by Whole Foods Market.
Broschat had been working at Whole Foods in the Chicago area for about two years when she faced a dilemma that all working mothers of chilldren with disabilities face. On January 8, the Chicago Public Schools cancelled classes due to dangerously cold weather. Broschat, a single mother who is also a full-time student, was scheduled to work. As she had no one to care for her son -- you can't just ask anyone to watch a child with disabilities and especially on short notice -- she had no choice but to stay at home with her son.
Broschat called her employer to explain the situation. The next day, she was informed that she was fired.
Now Broschat is fighting to get her job back. She's got the support of the Chicago Teachers Union and also of her co-workers, who joined her in a recent protest outside Whole Foods’ Midwest regional headquarters.
About 40 people joined that protest. But in reality, Broschat has many supporters who, like her and like me, are the mothers of children with special needs who work. All working mothers have their hands full juggling childcare with their jobs. Mothers of children with disabilities face the added challenges of finding any one at all to care for a son or daughter who may (like my son) have multiple communication, behavioral and medical issues. It's simply impossible to find such a person on the spur of the moment.
Stand with Rhiannon Broschat and sign this petition to demand that Whole Foods reinstate her!
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