MAPLE GROVE, Minn. — Approximately 3,000 Cub Foods union workers will return to work today at dozens of corporately-owned stores with a new two-year contract promising a wage bump and more say in safety issues.
Members of UFCW Local 663 voted overwhelmingly to ratify the deal, which promises average raises of $2.50 to $3.50 per hour while also establishing a new safety committee that workers will serve on. The vote took place at 12 different Cub locations, and ballots were counted after polls closed at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
“This year’s contract campaign was like nothing I’ve ever seen,” said Dave Mueller, a produce worker at the Uptown Cub. “I’ve been on the bargaining committee six times, and we’re so much more powerful than we ever were before. This was the most encompassing rank and file experience I’ve ever had the privilege to be a part of.”
“Promises made, promises kept!” added Souad Sami, who works in the deli at the Rockford Road store in Plymouth. “We’ve worked hard in the stores for many years, and at the bargaining table for months. We were able to make sure our pension and our retirement are secure.”
Union workers at Cub's corporate stores had been working without a contract since March 4, and had scheduled a two-day strike over Easter Weekend. Negotiators for both sides hammered out an agreement just hours before the work stoppage was set to begin.
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