FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 22, 2024
Minneapolis, MN – Today, the President and Executive Board of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 663 which represents 17,000 essential workers in grocery, meatpacking, food processing, and retail in Minnesota released the following statement.
“We take care of each other at UFCW Local 663. We have seen that over and over again the last 18 months. In the escalations to strike in the metro grocery stores, workers who had more saved up in their bank accounts coordinated to provide assistance to co-workers who had less. During the Labor Day parade in Austin, members from QPP and the metro turned out to support members at Hormel who were fighting for a fair contract.
This duty of care and solidarity defines who we are as individuals and as a Union.
We win more when we unite over our common interests.
We win more when we ensure all workers have choice and control over their own lives – from the right to demand more from the boss to the right to decide the fate of our own bodies and the right to choose who we love.
We win more when we vote for leaders who vote for workers.
The power of our Union and democracy of our country depends on all of us pulling together to win pro-worker majorities in local, state and federal elections this November.
We have a lot at stake locally in Minnesota and nationally.
In Minnesota we require:
- Unions for All;
- Family sustaining wages with a minimum of $25 an hour;
- Dependable hours throughout the year and schedule stability;
- Safety and wellbeing at work;
- Health & welfare to cover more workers and lower costs; and
- Secure retirement benefits.
Nationally we need to prevent the Kroger and Albertsons merger from hurting workers and consumers.
To have the power to win what we require, we need to vote for the candidates who will vote for us.
We are grateful for President Biden’s service on behalf of working families. He ensured a pro-labor National Labor Relations Board that has defended workers’ rights and held bad bosses accountable, including corporate CEOs.
Workers’ rights are on the ballot this November. Our futures depend on working together to elect Vice President Kamala Harris as President of the United States. As a U.S. Senator, she was a vocal supporter for essential worker protections during the pandemic. During her tenure as Vice President, she was critical in the fight to lower prescription drug costs and cast the tie-breaking vote to pass the Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021, safeguarding the retirements of over 350,000 union workers.
Workers can win what workers are willing to fight for. Let’s choose to fight for democracy and the power of workers to control our own destinies.”
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UFCW Local 663 represents more than 17,000 hard-working retail, meat packing and processing, food preparation and manufacturing, healthcare, and other workers in Minnesota and Iowa. 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 1.2 million-member United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.
Contact: Jessica Hayssen, jessicah@ufcw663.org
651-261-8559