UPDATE: April 5, 2023: Unionized workers at United Natural Foods, Inc.’s (UNFI) Cub Foods stores in the Twin Cities area have set a two-day strike for Friday and Saturday at 33 corporate-owned Cub stores representing around 3,000 workers, the local union announced Wednesday. The strike stemmed from alleged unfair labor practices by UNFI management, demands for higher wages and working without a contract for a month, according to CBS Minnesota.
Unionized workers at United Natural Foods, Inc.’s (UNFI) Cub Foods stores in the Twin Cities area voted Tuesday night to authorize a strike.
United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 663, which represents those workers as part of its more than 17,000 members in Minnesota and Iowa, tweeted that 94% voted in favor of the strike. The union will provide further information on Wednesday and will hold its next bargaining session with the retailer next week, according to CBS Minnesota.
UFCW Local 663 members at @UNFI @cubfoods overwhelmingly to authorize Unfair Labor Practices strike! 94% #663STRONG #ULPstrike
— UFCW663 ✊???? (@UFCW663) April 5, 2023
The union said it authorized the strike vote due to “unfair labor practices” by UNFI management during bargaining.
News site KARE 11 reported the strike vote impacts 3,000 workers across 33 Cub stores — roughly one-third of Cub’s total stores.
The union is pushing for $4 per hour over two years — up from the $2.75 per hour for the same time period that UNFI is offering — and union members told KARE 11 that bargaining negotiations had been stalled.
In a statement to KARE 11 before the strike vote, Cub said “we are prepared to implement contingency plans to ensure the continued availability of the products and services our guests have come to count on from Cub.”
Local 663 says on its website that it’s the largest UFCW Local in the five-state area. The union merged with another local union in 2021, growing its member base.
The strike vote comes at a time when UNFI is grappling with several issues. After the company recorded more than a 70% drop for both its net income and earnings per diluted share in its second-quarter results, the wholesaler, distributor and retailer is now facing a class-action lawsuit claiming investors were misled about expected cost savings.
Last month, the company announced the promotions of two senior executives as part of its transformation agenda, which aims to improve shareholder value by improving its customer and supplier experience and boosting operating efficiencies. As part of that plan, UNFI also unveiled last month several new efforts, including implementing artificial intelligence-powered robotics and new scanning technology at a distribution center in Washington, as the company aims to prove its overall cost structures.
