In leaked letter, Joann Fabrics CEO tells employees stores are 'essential' and must stay open based on claims that hospitals asked the craft retailer for supplies. The hospitals 'have not heard of this.'

Joann

Joann stores are staying open amid the coronavirus outbreak.

• In a letter to employees obtained by Business Insider, Joann Fabrics told employees it will stay open because it provides "essential business activities" and helps "home-based businesses and healthcare professionals with the supplies needed to operate and thus, must continue to operate."
• Joann CEO Wade Miquelon wrote in the letter that hospital systems like The Cleveland Clinic directly asked the company for materials for masks and gowns. However, a Cleveland Clinic spokesperson told Business Insider she had "not heard of this."
• "I just want to stay home," a Joann employee speaking on the condition of anonymity told Business Insider. "This has been a strain on everybody. I don't feel this company is putting our best interests at heart."
• Joann did not respond to Business Insider's request to comment.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Joann Fabrics has kept its stores open amid shutdowns, claiming it is an essential business.

In a letter sent to employees on March 21 and obtained by Business Insider, Joann CEO Wade Miquelon wrote that the company performs "essential business activities" because it "supplies both home-based businesses and healthcare professionals with the supplies needed to operate and thus, must continue to operate."

Specifically, Miquelon wrote that the craft store has received requests for fabrics, elastic, and vinyl from major healthcare organizations and is "directly supplying" hospitals including The Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals.

"Hospital systems have begun reaching out directly to Joann to help provide these needed goods, including The Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals, among many others," he wrote in the letter, sent to employees to use as proof to law enforcement of their "essential" status.

He continued: "Joann must be able to continue to supply these materials to customers who are making these finished goods and donating them to hospitals. Joann business is vital to the supply chain for both small businesses as well as its front line healthcare professionals."

However, a spokesperson at the Cleveland Clinic told Business Insider she had "not heard of this" and was unable to confirm that the organization reached out to Joann for help procuring materials for masks and gowns.

Similarly, a spokesperson for University Hospitals said the availability of personal protective equipment at its facilities "is adequate at this time" and that while it created a guide for masks that can be sewn by volunteers, she did not confirm any collaboration with Joann.

"We are working diligently and innovatively to assure we have the supplies necessary for the continuity of our operations in a COVID-19 patient surge event," Carly Besterling, senior media relations strategist at University Hospitals, told Business Insider in an email. "For example, UH has created a uniform mask prototype that can be sewn by volunteers. UH is also organizing community collection sites for donations of personal protective equipment."

Joann did not respond to Business Insider's request to comment.

The letter comes as Joann competitors Hobby Lobby and Michaels also continue to leave stores open around the country. In the US, each state currently holds autonomy in making this decision, however craft stores are not on the list of businesses universally considered essential, nor are they included in a guidance issued by the Department of Homeland Security.

A Joann employee in Wisconsin - who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect his job and whose identity and employment status were confirmed by Business Insider - said he has been forced to continue working despite having a preexisting heart condition that places him in the high-risk category.

The employee also takes medication for mental illness and said he has had three panic attacks this week alone. He said that when he asked his manager if he could take time to self-quarantine, he was told his only option would be to take unpaid leave.

"I just want to be at home," he said. "I'm poor, but I feel like I'll be fine through this. I just want to stay home. This has been a strain on everybody. I dont feel this company is putting our best interests at heart."

Another employee, who also spoke on the basis of anonymity to protect her job, said Joann had not provided any additional cleaning supplies or protections like gloves and masks while it remains open. The employee works at a store in New York, which health officials have called the epicenter of the coronavirus in the US with more than 30,000 confirmed cases in the state, more than half of which are in the New York City metro area.

"It's disgusting to see this company prey on vulnerable people with good intentions who want to help," she wrote. "All they care about is money. I'm young and healthy, I don't fear for my own life, but what if I'm unknowingly infecting others? What if I got my family sick? Many of my coworkers have families who are immuno-compromised."

She continued: "[Joann has] endangered so many people already. Crafts are not worth someone's life."

Read the full letter to Joann employees below:

March 21, 2020

To Whom It May Concern:

The holder of this letter is a team member for Jo-Ann Stores, LLC ("JOANN"), a specialty retailer of fabrics and sewing accessories with retail operations in 49 states. JOANN performs "Essential Business Activities" in that it supplies both home-based businesses and healthcare professionals with the supplies needed to operate and thus, must continue to operate.

More than 30% of Joann's sales are products which enable millions of consumers to work from home. Without JOANN as part of their supply chain, these makers will be able to operate fully functioning businesses, placing a further strain on our economy.

More importantly, during this global pandemic, JOANN is directly supplying hospitals, urgent cares and other facilities, with the raw materials to make their own protective equipment ("PPE") when, as now, there is a critical shortage of finished goods. Specifically, JOANN provides custom cuts of fabric, elastic, and clear vinyl that are later finished into gowns and face masks. Hospital systems have begun reaching out directly to JOANN to help provide these needed goods, including The Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals, among many others. JOANN must be able to continue to supply these materials to customers who are making these finished goods and donating them to hospitals. JOANN's business is vital to the supply chain for both small businesses as well as its front line healthcare professionals.

Accordingly, our team members need to travel to and from the JOANN store(s) for the purpose of conducting these Essential Business Activities for the duration of the order.

All JOANN personnel are provided a daily update on COVID-19, including safety and hygiene precautions to be taken, as well as social distancing practices. Any team member who is exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 is asked to stay home. Based on JOANN's Essential Business Activities and the precautions being taken by all of our team members, please allow JOANN team members the ability to travel to and from our store locations during this order to fulfill these Essential Business Activities.

Sincerely,

Wade Miquelon

President & CEO

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