On March 25, UFCW members traded their aprons for advocacy, gathering in St. Paul to train, testify, and meet face-to-face with the legislators who represent them.
Members of UFCW Local 663 and UFCW Local 1189 spent the day learning how to share their stories, understand the legislative process, and make the case for urgent issues: stopping surveillance pricing in grocery stores, protecting workers from job-cutting technology, and preventing supply chain monopolies. Then they walked straight to the Capitol and put these skills into action!
Link to FB photos: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1BuLKgPZv6/
How the day unfolded
The day was structured to give members the knowledge and confidence to advocate effectively:
• Morning: Training sessions and a press conference with legislators
• Midday: Story-sharing, learning how a bill becomes law, and role-playing legislator meetings
• Afternoon: Capitol visits to meet face-to-face with elected officials
The day also kicked off with a press conference where members shared their personal experiences. Hayley Mudek of Local 663 spoke publicly about what’s at stake for workers like her. Watch her story:
The issues on the table
Members lobbied on three bills directly affecting grocery store workers and the customers they serve every day.
Bill 1: Stop Price Gouging in Grocery Stores Act
HF 4454 · Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura | SF 4711 · Sen. Lindsey Port
Large grocery chains now use artificial intelligence and shopper data — your location, purchase history, even how you browse online — to charge different customers different prices for the same item. Combined with electronic shelf labels that can change prices in real time, this technology puts power entirely in corporations’ hands and takes it away from workers and shoppers alike. Without any rules in place, large grocery chains are able to use digital technology and artificial intelligence to exploit customers and destroy jobs as grocery workers lose hours, jobs, and ultimately, their livelihoods. This bill puts a stop to that.
“These tags can be used to change prices on a minute-to-minute basis, set by algorithms responding to weather, our personal data, or other algorithms. We, as workers, will be the ones who need to explain to customers why prices are the way they are, and digital price labels will worsen those conversations. It weakens the social connections we make with our community. And as a shopper, I want to see physical price tags to have more confidence in the products I am purchasing,”
— Robert Coleman, Cub Foods, Bloomington
Bill 2: Consumer Grocery Pricing Fairness Act
HF 2149 · Rep. Emma Greenman | SF 2556 · Sen. Clare Oumou Verbeten
National grocery chains abuse their dominant market power by purchasing goods at unfair prices destroying pre-existing regional and local grocery chains. This leads to “food deserts” in greater Minnesota as well as underserved communities in the twin cities. It also leads to higher grocery prices for consumers and workers.
This bill would create fair markets for small, medium, and independent grocers in Minnesota. It will also protect our good union jobs at Minnesota supermarkets.
Bill 3: Retailer Packer Ban (Stop the Meat Monopoly)
HF 4080 · Rep. Rick Hansen | SF 4393 · Sen. Aric Putnam
Dominant retail grocers like Costco and Walmart are moving to own the entire meat supply chain — from moo to chew. This vertical integration threatens wages for workers, fair prices for farmers, and affordable meat for consumers. This bill would ban that practice in Minnesota.
Part of a national movement
Minnesota’s lobby day is part of a broader UFCW push. Locals across the country are coordinating to pass state-level bans on surveillance pricing, while UFCW launched a federal campaign against grocery price gouging in February 2026.
Take action now
Write your legislator to support affordable groceries and protect union jobs: actionnetwork.org/letters/support-affordable-groceries
Interested in going to the Capitol in 2027 to advocate for affordable groceries and protect union grocery jobs? Reach out to jessicah@ufcw663.org
Protect Your Job. Protect Your Paycheck. Every election impacts your work and your wallet. Politicians decide:
- Whether union jobs are protected
- Whether wages and overtime laws are enforced
- Whether pensions stay secure
- Whether grocery corporations are held accountable
- Whether working families get relief from rising prices
The Active Ballot Club (ABC) is how UFCW members stand together politically to protect what we’ve built. ABC helps elect leaders who support good union jobs, worker safety, and affordable groceries.
- Corporations organize politically every day.
- ABC makes sure workers do too
- Participation is voluntary.
- But when more members take part, our union has more power.
- More power means stronger contracts and better protections.
Disclosure: UFCW does not use general funds to pay for political activities.