MINNEAPOLIS — Thousands of grocery store workers in Minnesota have voted to go on strike.
Cub Foods union workers said the potential strike was related to alleged unfair labor practices, wages and working without a contract for a month.
According to the union, about 3,000 workers at 33 UNFI stores, mostly located in the Twin Cities area, are involved in the strike.
In a press conference Wednesday morning, the union said it plans to picket outside stores on Friday and Saturday.
A list of affected stores (right side):
Cub Foods released a statement in response to the strike approval:
Cub cares deeply about his team members and has carefully and in good faith negotiated with local UFCW union #663 to secure a new collective bargaining agreement. As part of his current offer, Cub has proposed historic wage increases and agreed to ongoing union health and pension plans on terms specifically requested by the union.
We are deeply disappointed that the union decided to spend yesterday holding a strike authorization vote rather than use this time to meet with us to reach agreement on the terms of a new contract . We very much hope that the union will choose to continue negotiations rather than continue a strike. Even if a strike does occur, we stand ready to implement contingency plans to ensure the continued availability of the products and services that our guests at Cub can count on.
The next round of negotiations is on Tuesday.
WCCO staff
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