I am a former grocery store employee who was assigned the task of handling shopping carts. It was a grueling job, pushing five heavy carts at a time, come rain or shine. The danger is real - these metal carts pose a risk of attracting lightning strikes and there's always the threat of not being seen by drivers in busy parking lots.

But that's not the worst of it. I ended up losing my job as cart pusher despite all of the painstaking effort I put into doing my job. It wasn't good enough for my employer and I got sacked.

Our proposal is simple yet effective - require coin-operated shopping carts at all stores that use them. This system encourages shoppers to return their own carts, reducing the number of stray carts and subsequently lessening the workload on employees. In Europe, this practice is common and has proven successful in maintaining order and safety in parking areas.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 20,000 workplace injuries related to manual material handling (which includes pushing shopping carts) were reported in 2019 alone (Bureau of Labor Statistics). By implementing coin-operated shopping cart systems across all stores nationwide, we can significantly reduce this figure while also promoting personal responsibility among shoppers.

We urge you to consider this change for the safety and well-being of thousands of hardworking employees nationwide. Please sign our petition today!