Cub Foods union announces tentative contract deal, averting two-day strike
Updated: 5:55 a.m.
A planned two-day strike by several thousand grocery workers at more than 30 Twin Cities-area Cub Foods stores has been averted.
United Food and Commercial Workers Local 663 announced early Friday — hours before its members had planned to start picketing — that it reached a tentative contract agreement with store owner UNFI.
The union said it includes wage increases of $2.50 to $3.50 an hour by spring 2024, and the creation of a safety committee. UFCW Local 663 also said the contract contains “huge wins” for part-time workers, and moves about 300 employees to full-time status.
A ratification vote is tentatively planned for next Tuesday.
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“What we have done, is we have re-written the history, and the future, for 3,000 souls and countless ahead of us,” Pam Wilson, a head customer service manager at Cub’s Eagan East store, said in a news release. “We are a more powerful union now, and we are only going to continue to build our power together.”
The strike had been planned for Friday and Saturday at 33 Cub Foods stores in and near the Twin Cities, owned by parent company UNFI. The union’s previous contract had expired on March 4, and nearly 95 percent of members had supported calling an unfair labor practices strike — just ahead of the Easter holiday — while talks had remained at an impasse. Union members said they were seeking better pay, among other measures, after working through the pandemic.
The agreement announced early Friday averted the walkout and left union officials celebrating the outcomes of what they called “the most powerful contract campaign the Twin Cities grocery industry has seen in decades.”
“The bargaining committee believes that this tentative agreement respects, protects, and pays our members fairly,” UFCW Local 663 President Rena Wong said in a news release.
In a statement early Friday, Cub Foods said it was pleased to announce the tentative two-year contract agreement, saying it provides employees with “historic wage increases and continued comprehensive health and welfare and retirement benefits as requested by the union.”
“We care greatly for our Cub team members and are pleased that our stores will be open and ready to serve our customers and communities throughout the holiday weekend,” the company said.