March 24, 2020
Dear Member,
I am continuing to work hard on your behalf to demand that you are as safe as you can be at work. This includes our hardworking frontline grocery store members, retail members,nursing home members, meat packing and food processing members and all of the other industries where we have members. All of you have an important role to play in our communities. I am truly thankful for all that you do. Know that you are not alone in this fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. We are a strong union, and all 13, 200 of us have got each other’s backs. We will get through this.
Plexiglass Partitions to be Installed at Cub Foods
Cub Foods will be installing 36” by 30” plexiglass partitions at checkout stands, service desk, and at the pharmacy areas in the next coming weeks. We applaud this safety measure and will keep pushing for the safest workplaces for you throughout our industry.
Labor Leaders Ask Governor Walz to Make Grocery Workers Tier 1
Today I spoke again with Governor Walz this morning on a Minnesota AFL-CIO labor leaders call. I thanked Governor Walz for his continued leadership and the shout out to grocery workers last week on his TV update was greatly appreciated. I emphasized that grocery store workers need the same guarantee that Tier 1 first responders have for child care, and members are running into problems with child care being turned away because there is not enough room. MN AFL-CIO President Bill McCarthy told the Governor that they also support Local 663’s move to reclassify grocery workers as Tier 1. The Governor responded and thanked me, and he appreciates that our members are on the front line. He told his staff member to note it on the list of follow up items.
UFCW International President Marc Perrone spoke to MSNBC‘s Andrea Mitchell Reports about keeping our members safe during this crisis:
“On a normal day, we might look at anywhere from 800 to say 1,200 people, depending on the day. But one day last week in one of our stores in the New York/New Jersey area, there were over 10,000 people in the store that day.
Just the sheer volume of the people that they run into is one of our major concerns. And them not having the protective equipment that they need, much like the doctors and the first responders.”
WATCH THE FULL VIDEO HERE: http://www.ufcw.org/2020/03/23/msnbccoronavirus/
Thank you to our Members in Nursing Homes
Let’s recognize and be grateful for our hardworking Local 663 members in nursing homes throughout the state! Thank you for taking care of the elderly and most vulnerable among us.
Jerlean (Mama) Davis, Audrey Miles, Karen Dahlbloom and Bonita Benton of Villa at Bryn Mawr
UFCW Local 663 members at JBS in Worthington keeping our food supply lines going strong in Minnesota!
Resources for Workers During COVID-19 Outbreak
In our ongoing efforts to keep communication lines open and information available, here is a list of useful websites during these uncertain times that you and your family may find helpful.
- UFCW Local 663 website
- Minnesota Department of Health website
- Center for Disease Control website
- World Health Organization website
Talk with you tomorrow. Thank you all for all that you do.
Matt