High-end fitness chain Equinox fired one of its trainers Thursday after she spoke out about safety concerns and pay cuts in response to the company’s reopening in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, BuzzFeed News reports.
Monica Davis, who was employed by Equinox for three years, told BuzzFeed News Wednesday that she didn’t feel safe going back to work with the continued prevalence of the coronavirus.
She said she was concerned about “recycled air and body fluids” in such a confined setting and raised concerns about “spoiled, entitled” Equinox members not following social distancing guidelines and not wearing masks.
Davis said the gym chain paid her $60 for roughly five hours of work before the pandemic and that the company planned to decrease that wage by 25% when it reopened.
“You guys are asking the people at the bottom of your food chains to take this hit and bear the breadth of lost revenue,” Davis said, per BuzzFeed News.
She said that cutting instructors’ pay is counter to Equinox’s public image and that the executive level of the company is “Trumpy, greedy, capitalist-y bullshit.”
Davis cited the chain’s owner, Stephen Ross, as an example. After Ross hosted a fundraiser for President Donald Trump last year, some called for a complete boycott of all companies with which Ross associates, including SoulCycle, Pure Yoga, and Equinox, according to the Washington Post.
Davis wrote on Instagram that speaking on the record was scary, but it was a decision she “felt comfortable making.”
“I don’t think multi-billion dollar corporations need to squeeze their lowest paid employees,” Davis wrote. “Do you? If not, I hope you continue fighting on behalf of the little guys like me. I have a good amount of privilege and I’m still getting screwed.”
After sharing her concerns with BuzzFeed News, Equinox fired Davis on Thursday due to the “disparaging comments” she made about the company’s members and executives.
Equinox did not immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment.
Davis wrote on Instagram that she will “be ok.”
“I’m optimistic,” Davis wrote. “Stand up for what you believe in. I think this is the start to a new chapter.”
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*First Published: Jul 10, 2020, 1:01 pm
Samantha Shaps
Samantha Shaps is a journalism student at the University of Texas at Austin and a contributor for the Daily Dot.
Source : https://www.dailydot.com/irl/equinox-instructor-fired-coronavirus/