Workers at a Birmingham-based shopping service are planning a nationwide work stoppage as the coronavirus crisis continues to disrupt American life.

Shoppers for Shipt announced Monday they plan a walk off for Tuesday (April 7) if demands are not met for safety improvements, better pay and other measures aren’t met by the company purchased by Target in 2017.

The size and scope of the walk out is still unclear. A Shipt spokesperson on Monday afternoon told AL.com they have not seen a drop off in shoppers scheduling themselves for Tuesday shifts.

A blog post on Medium outlined the issues with the shopping service that delivers groceries to shoppers who place orders online. It calls for more personal protective equipment for shoppers who traverse potentially crowded store aisles in place of the customer.

They also want $5 hazard pay per order and expanding its sick pay program. Shipt shoppers currently get 14 days of sick pay if they can prove they tested positive for COVID-19 or they were ordered to quarantine by a doctor or health official.

“The policy needs to include Shoppers who are either too high risk to work or doctor’s note advising them to stay home,” the blog post on Medium reads. “Additionally, Shoppers should not have to go through hoops to get this pay.”

Walk-off organizers did not respond to an interview request from AL.com as of publication of this story.

A Shipt spokesperson responded to each of the six major demands made by the shoppers organizing the walk off.

On the topic of sick pay, Shipt says the existing policy had been worded in a way to prevent fraudulent claims and each case would be reviewed individually. Workers who test positive for COVID-19 will receive paychecks for their average weekly earnings (including tips) from the previous four weeks.

The company also stated it had secured a limited supply of PPE equipment that it provided to its most vulnerable shoppers in the first wave. Starting next week, every Shipt shopper will be able to pick up gloves and a mask at Target locations.

In response to the request for $5 of hazard pay per order, Shipt says it is using “promo pay” typically used around busy times like the holidays to entice shoppers to work when demand rises and help dries up. The company is paying up to four times the amount of the normal promo pay, Shipt says.

In-app ratings below five stars will be waived, Shipt stated, because “The last thing we want you to worry about right now is a low rating – any delivery you can complete makes a difference.”

Shoppers with Shipt are also unhappy with two recent cuts in pay. A new formula for calculating the compensation per order used in a number of markets has substantially cut the take-home pay, workers contend. Shipt says this is still a trial program in select markets, none of which are in Alabama.

Then last week, pay for canceled orders was dropped to $5 when it had been as high as $30.

Shipt competitor, Instacart, faced a similar shopper strike last week with workers demanding similar safety protections. The company responded by providing each shopper a reusable facemask, hand sanitizer and a thermometer, The Hill reported. Also last week, grocery workers at Amazon-owned Whole Foods held sick-outs at locations nationwide in hopes of improving protection from the fast-spreading pandemic.

Four workers at large national grocery store chains died in recent days, The Washington Post reported Monday. They include workers in Maryland, Chicago and New York, The Post reported.

Target bought Shipt in December 2017 for $550 million in cash. The plan was to expand same-day delivery of Target’s offerings while still delivering groceries from other stores. Shipt operations are still based in Birmingham.

The company announced March 20 it was hiring thousands of new shoppers to meet the exploding demand resulting from the health crisis. Among the demands listed in the walk-off notice dealt with the new employees. It claims orientation was suspended to accommodate the surge in demand, so the new shoppers are not adequately trained to meet the needs of consumers.

Shipt says it suspended its orientation program for two weeks during the influx of new workers but anyone who missed the training can retroactively take the courses.

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.