FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Minneapolis–Grocery workers who were slated to walk off the job at 5:30am this morning are now celebrating a tentative agreement that would provide raises of $2.50 to $3.50 an hour by Spring of 2024, and establish a landmark safety committee.
The union was able to secure huge wins for the part-time workers who make up the majority of the bargaining unit. In addition, a significant portion of the bargaining unit – the 300 people currently classified as retail specialists, to be converted to classified assistants – were able to win the security of a full-time position.
“What we have done, is we have re-written the history, and the future, for 3,000 souls and countless ahead of us,” said Pam Wilson, a head Customer Service Manager at Cub – Eagan East. “We are a more powerful union now, and we are only going to continue to build our power together.”
UFCW 663 members continued working since their union contract–which covered 3,000 workers at 33 UNFI-owned Cub Foods stores–expired on March 4th. A month after expiration, 94.5% of voting members authorized their bargaining committee to call for an Unfair Labor Practices strike.
“This is a union of people who sacrificed beyond imagination, to keep Minnesotans fed during the pandemic. It is no surprise, then, that these grocery workers were able to organize the most powerful contract campaign the Twin Cities grocery industry has seen in decades,” said UFCW Local 663 President Rena Wong. “The bargaining committee believes that this tentative agreement respects, protects, and pays our members fairly. We look forward to sharing the agreement with the thousands of UFCW Local 663 members, and continuing to welcome new members who are working to organize their own workplaces.”
The bargaining committee is currently organizing a ratification vote for April 11.
United Food and Commercial Workers Local 663 is a union of more than 17,000 hard-working essential workers in retail, meat packing and processing, food preparation and manufacturing and healthcare in Minnesota led by President Rena Wong. We strive to improve the lives of our members and of all working families by fighting for economic, political, and social justice in our workplaces and communities. Local 663 is part of the 1.3 million-member United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.
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