Workers at 33 Cub Foods locations vote to authorize a strike, and plan to protest starting Friday

MINNEAPOLIS — Thousands of grocery store workers in Minnesota have voted to authorize a strike.

Union workers at Cub Foods said the potential strike is over alleged unfair labor practices, wages and working without a contract for a month.

According to the union, the strike involves approximately 3,000 workers at 33 stores owned by UNFI, mostly located in the Twin Cities.

At a press conference Wednesday morning, the union said it plans to pick up in front of stores on Friday and Saturday.

A list of affected stores (right side):

Cub Foods released a statement in response to the strike authorization:

Cub cares deeply about its team members and has been negotiating diligently and in good faith with UFCW Local #663 to finalize a new collective bargaining agreement. As part of its current offer, Cub has proposed historic wage increases and accepted ongoing union health and pension plans on terms specifically requested by the union.

We are deeply disappointed that the union chose to use yesterday to take a strike authorization vote instead of using that time to meet with us to agree on terms for a new contract. It is our strong hope that the union will choose to continue negotiations rather than strike. Although there is a strike, we are prepared to implement contingency plans to ensure continued availability of the products and services our guests have come to rely on from Cub.

The next negotiation meeting is on Tuesday.