Dive Brief:

• Unionized workers at Lunds & Byerlys ratified on Saturday a “historic” contract that came just days after threatening an unfair labor practices strike, which was set to take place last week, the local union announced.
• The agreement provides wage increases to the chain’s 2,500 workers across 22 stores, particularly benefiting part-time and custodial positions, said United Food & Commercial Workers Local 663, which represents those workers.
• The contract also sets in motion the first phase of pay equity adjustments by this fall to “impacted employees with at least five years of service,” per the announcement. 

Dive Insight:

The contract comes at a time when unionized workers for food retailers are demanding higher wages and improved labor practices. 

The new two-year contract provides average raises of $3 to $4 an hour by next spring. The local union said that part-time courtesy and custodial positions will see “significant” wage gains. All courtesy and custodial workers with “five plus” years of service prior to the contract ratification will get a wage increase of $3 per hour. 

Charlie Mullen, assistant produce manager at the Lunds & Byerlys store near Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis, said in a statement that the pay increases bring custodial and courtesy workers closer to the part-time pay scale. 

“In the 35 years I’ve been in the retail grocery industry, I’ve never seen such a rich contract,” Rosemary Luoma, a worker at the Lunds & Byerlys store in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, said in the announcement.

The contract for Lunds & Byerlys’ unionized workers expired on March 7. 

On June 23, Lunds & Byerlys workers represented by Local 663 announced an “overwhelming membership vote” authorizing union members of the bargaining committee to call for an unfair labor practices strike and that the union had filed unfair labor practices charges against the grocer with the National Labor Relations Board.

A few days later, the local union called off the strike, which was set for June 29-July 1, after union members and the grocer reached a tentative agreement. 

This spring, the same local union achieved a “historic” contract win for unionized workers at Cub Foods stores in the Twin Cities area. Local 663 represents more than 17,000 members in Minnesota.

“Cub paved the way for us,” Luoma of Lunds & Byerlys said. “They set the standard for wages. Lunds & Byerlys has now set the new standard for the grocery industry.”