UFCW Local 663 and UFCW Local 9, the union for 3,100 Minnesota essential workers in the Austin area have been working together to advocate for frontline worker pay at the state capital to include food, retail and healthcare workers as well as meatpacking workers safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The following are excerpts of remarks by Minnesota meatpacking worker member Antonio Jimenez, a UFCW Local 663 member at the JBS pork processing plant in Worthington:

“In the spring of 2020, a COVID outbreak tore through my plant and I was one of the workers who got sick. I was out sick for weeks. I worried the whole time about passing the infection on to my children, family, and friends. My union provided me with information and resources so I could go on short-term disability. Most people I know have at least a couple friends who got COVID. In my plant, more than 50 percent of the workers got COVID. 

“While things have improved, COVID is still here in our community, and it’s still here for me, personally. I still struggle with the after-effects – lingering symptoms and fatigue. I support frontline worker pay for meatpacking workers because we have worked to keep this state fed and exposed ourselves and our families to extreme risk in doing so.”

Minnesota grocery worker Paul Swanson, a UFCW Local 663 member at Lunds & Byerlys grocery store in Wayzata, also testified, saying:

“The initial impact of COVID-19 for myself and my co-workers was the rush of customers during the hoarding phase. We went from doing regular business to three times the business overnight.

“A big impact was COVID protocols at work–if anyone had a covid exposure, you had to quarantine for 14 days without pay. This meant my coworkers who are part timers had no vacation and lost income. Those of us with vacation would have to choose to use vacation to be able to get a paycheck. COVID definitely created financial hardships for grocery store workers. Please include grocery workers as an eligible industry for frontline worker pay.”

UFCW Local 663 President Matt Utecht released the following statement:

“Minnesota’s grocery, meatpacking and healthcare workers did not sign-up to risk their lives, but they have been coming to work throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and serving their communities. Our members, and all frontline workers deserve to be compensated for the extreme risk that they and their families face every day. Minnesota should use some of the federal COVID-19 funds to provide premium pay for essential frontline workers this year.”

BACKGROUND:

• In Minnesota, UFCW Local 663 represents more than 13,200 workers in retail grocery, meatpacking and food processing, healthcare, and other industries and UFCW Local 9 represents more than 3,100 workers in meatpacking and food processing, food manufacturing, and warehouse workers.

• Nationally, frontline workers with UFCW have been working and dying during this pandemic. Since March 2020, 482 UFCW frontline workers have died and 79,900 frontline UFCW workers have been infected or exposed to COVID-19. Given the lack of transparency from  grocery and meat packing and processing companies across these industries, experts estimate that COVID-19 worker infections and deaths are even higher.

• In Minnesota, we saw the devastating effects of COVID-19 in the meatpacking and processing plants and communities from Worthington and Austin where our Locals represent workers to St. Cloud and other parts of greater Minnesota for frontline employees in non-union workplaces. Workers were infected at work and brought it home to their families – some are still dealing with the lingering effects of COVID-19.

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UFCW Local 663 represents more than 13,200 hard-working retail, meatpacking and processing, food preparation and manufacturing, healthcare, and other workers in Minnesota and Iowa. It is the largest UFCW Local in the Midwest. We strive to improve the lives of our members and all working families by fighting for economic, political, and social justice in our workplaces and communities. UFCW Local 663 is part of the 1.3 million-member United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.

BROOKLYN CENTER, MN – Today, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) 663, the union for over 13,200 frontline food and retail workers in Minnesota and Iowa, announced a new union contract agreement. The new UFCW Local 663 deal guarantees that union grocery workers will fulfill Instacart orders at Jerry’s Foods, a grocery operator of Cub Foods, when a customer selects “pickup” in the app for their order at that store. This agreement applies to 14 stores in Minneapolis, Richfield, Bloomington,and across the western Twin Cities suburbs.

UFCW Local 663 President Matthew Utecht released the following statement:

“Grocery store workers continue to be on the frontlines of this pandemic and putting their health at risk to serve their communities. As the world has shifted to new realities, UFCW Local 663 members continue to be the backbone of essential foods and services our communities cannot live without having.

“It’s straightforward for UFCW Local 663 members to do the work inside of the store for online shopping and pickup. All our union members have guaranteed wages, minimum hours, benefits, and workplace protections because we fought for them collectively.

“It is fantastic that this new agreement establishes that only workers with these safeguards will be doing the online shopping work for supermarket pickup moving forward.”

Blanche Gulley, who has 17 years of experience in the grocery industry and whose current job duties include online shopping for pickup orders at Cub Foods in Chaska, MN, said:

“I’ve been doing online shopping since COVID hit last year. It’s important that this work is done by unionized workers because we are in the grocery industry and are the experts in customer service. I expect online shopping to continue to grow, even though COVID might be on the decline. It’s convenient for the customer, and it’s convenient for us because we are in the store to do the work.”

BACKGROUND:

The UFCW Local 663 Minnesota union grocery agreement follows the victory of Instacart workers that unionized with UFCW in the Chicago area last year; the union’s work as a leading voice calling out gig economy company efforts to automate grocery worker jobs and in the push to protect good-paying union jobs, and the union applauding recent Biden Administration action to address the predatory gig economy model hurting so many workers.

Before this agreement, in-store shopping was contracted out to non-union E-commerce workers with Instacart. Now, unionized workers are fulfilling the Instacart online grocery orders when in-store pickup is selected by the customer. These unionized workers will also have access to union benefits like wage rates, minimum hours, paid time off, and other benefits. In addition, some of the former Instacart workers accepted union positions and are now members of UFCW Local 663.

This success is also on the heels of other agreements that UFCW Local 663 and its members have secured, including:

• In Fall 2020, Jerry’s Foods reached an agreement in the previous UFCW Local 663 contract for union grocery workers to fulfill the Instacart online grocery orders when in-store pickup is selected by the customer.
• In Fall 2020, Cub Foods stores reached an agreement for union grocery workers to fulfill online grocery orders when in-store pickup is selected by customers. The UNFI Cub Foods contract is a 5-year contract that runs through March 2023.
• Similarly, Lund and Byerlys, another large Twin Cities unionized grocery chain, has all online grocery orders for in-store pickup fulfilled by UFCW Local 663 union grocery workers.

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UFCW Local 663 represents more than 13,200 hard-working retail, meatpacking and processing, food preparation and manufacturing, healthcare, and other workers in Minnesota and Iowa. It is the largest UFCW Local in the Midwest. We strive to improve the lives of our members and all working families by fighting for economic, political, and social justice in our workplaces and communities. UFCW Local 663 is part of the 1.3 million-member United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.

BROOKLYN CENTER, MN – Today, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) 663, the union for over 13,200 frontline food and retail workers in Minnesota and Iowa, announced new agreements with top grocery chains across the state to strengthen pay, expand benefits, and improve protections for 6,000 Minnesota grocery workers throughout the western Twin Cities metro area as part of new two-year union contracts.

UFCW Local 663 negotiated union contracts include: Jerry’s Foods and Jerry’s Cub Foods, Kowalski’s Markets, Lunds & Byerlys, Haug’s Cub Foods, Oxendale’s Market, Knowlan’s Festival Foods, Almsted’s Fresh Market, Radermacher’s Cub Foods, Driskill’s Downtown Market, Mound Jubilee Foods, King’s County Market in Andover, Everett’s Foods, Cooper’s Foods, and Ingebretsen’s Scandinavian Gifts. 

UFCW Local 663 President Matthew Utecht served as lead union negotiator: “I am proud of what our union members achieved for their coworkers at the bargaining table. When faced with adversity, our union shows true grit and determination. The union contracts that workers voted on and accepted elevate not only our union members’ wages, benefits and workplace protections, they raise the entire grocery industry in the Twin Cities. Day after day, brave grocery store workers throughout Minnesota continue to work through these incredibly challenging times. Our union has a place for anyone that wants to build a better life by reaching together for higher wages, benefits and more workplace protections.” 

UFCW Local 663 negotiations began in January 2021 and ran through Spring 2021, with union members voting on their respective contracts as they were completed and recommended by their union bargaining committee members who negotiated with their employers. This year’s negotiations largely took place in person, masked and at a social distance in large conference rooms due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Minneapolis Grocery Worker Courtney Huber at Cub Foods: “As essential workers, we’ve been through a lot, and continue to serve on the front lines. Our new contracts recognize this. Our wage increases alone demonstrate the power we have when we come together as a union to fight for what we deserve.”

Richfield Grocery Worker Jesslynn Phillips at Lunds & Byerlys: “We all have a responsibility to lift each other up. We came to agreements that improve part-time positions with better wages and benefits. As a single mom, that makes it easier to provide for my family.” 

Key Points in New UFCW 663 Minnesota Grocery Worker Contracts:

• All workers gain more wages and will see pay increases every six months over the course of the contract. 
• Healthcare affordability protected with no increases in health care costs over the entire length of the contracts.
• Wage improvements in the new contracts were negotiated and now sync with the Supervalu/UNFI Cub Foods local industry standard union contract. 
• All contracts expire in March of 2023. 
• Hazard pay—Kowalski’s agreed to continue the $2.00 an hour increase through May 1, 2021. Hazard pay at all other Minnesota grocers has already been paid or will be paid in one time bonuses. 
• All part-time non-benefited positions at grocery stores will have the opportunity to sign up and receive ancillary benefits for one dollar a week. 
• Ancillary benefits include: Doctor on Demand/Telehealth, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Access to an Employee Assistance Program, and other key support.
• Part-time employees will make more money when they are put on temporary full-time status.
• Part-time employees with more than one year of service will begin earning pro-rated vacation benefits. 

For highlights of each contract, click here. 

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UFCW Local 663 represents more than 13,200 hard-working retail, meat packing and processing, food preparation and manufacturing, healthcare, and other workers in Minnesota and Iowa and is the largest UFCW Local in the Midwest. 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. UFCW Local 663 is part of the 1.3 million-member United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.