Labor Actions Heat Up With Minnesota Grocers
Grocery worker issues are bubbling up in Minnesota, ahead of the labor-centric May Day this week. On April 27, around 200 members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 663 and supporters attended a rally outside a Lunds & Byerlys store in the Minneapolis suburb of Edina alongside the state’s Lieutenant Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who is currently running for a U.S. Senate seat.
The union members associates, who have been working without a contact since March, gathered to lobby for better wages and benefits and called for more protections for hours and transfers. Sunday’s event was the start of what UFCW 663 is calling a “Week of Action” around the May Day occasion, with 20 planned events. In addition to grocery employees at stores including Lunds & Byerlys, Kowalski's Markets, Cub Foods and Jerry's Foods, the union comprises meat packer and processor workers, and healthcare workers.
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"In this economy, in this moment, as people are doing everything they can to simply take care of themselves and take care of their families, folks at this establishment should have the back of these workers," Flanagan said at the gathering outside Lunds & Byerlys, a family-owned company.
Other local officials were on hand for organized activities in the area. State Rep. Julie Greene visited an event outside Jerry's Foods in Edina and declared, “I am a frequent shopper here. And many of my constituents shop here as well. I am here in support of having fair benefits and fair wages.”
Andrea Turner, a UFCW 663 member and a full-time deli supervisor at Lunds & Byerlys, talked about the current situation on an April 28 Facebook Live panel discussion with members of other labor groups. “I’ve worked for Lunds & Byerlys for 42 years. My co-workers and I work hard to provide the best customer service and we deserve pay and benefits that reflect that hard work. We need good, affordable healthcare and we should not take homeless pay because of the cost of healthcare,” she said. “We are also fighting for family-sustaining wages.”
According to a report from CBS News, grocers in the Minneapolis area issued a joint statement on April 10 addressing potential labor actions. "It is unfortunate that the union has taken the unnecessary step of protesting at our stores,” they wrote. “We hope the union will come to the table and work with leadership on an agreement that is fair to everyone and enables grocers to continue to meet the needs of the thousands of customers we serve each day," the companies wrote.
