Annmarie Reinhart Smith, Who Battled for Retail Workers, Dies at 61
After nearly three decades with Toys “R” Us, she helped lead a fight by employees for severance pay from the bankrupt company. She died of Covid-19.
Annmarie Reinhart Smith took on the corporate owners of Toys “R” Us after the chain’s bankruptcy filing, fighting for a hardship fund that benefited laid-off employees.Credit.Marcos Echeverria Ortiz/United for Respect
By Stephen Kurczy
Published March 6, 2021Updated March 15, 2021
This obituary is part of a series about people who have died in the coronavirus pandemic. Read about others
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Annmarie Reinhart Smith had worked for Toys “R” Us for nearly three decades when the company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2017, leading to store closings and the layoffs of 33,000 workers, including her. Left without severance pay, she vented her frustration on a Facebook page called the Dead Giraffe Society, named after the store’s mascot, Geoffrey the Gir