One good job should be enough

Too many grocery workers in our state work hard but struggle to get by. Whether buying groceries in the checkout line or running the register, they are being pushed to their limits.

Housing and food prices have soared in Minnesota, and for many, owning a home and being able to retire are out of reach. If something does not change soon, the way of life we all love here in Minnesota will disappear.

Grocery store jobs once provided decent, dignified lives.

Consider this: In 1982, the lowest wage for part-time grocery workers was $5.23 per hour, equivalent to approximately $17.58 in today’s dollars, adjusted for inflation. Forty-three years later, wages have not kept pace. Today, the lowest-paid part-time grocery workers make just over $11 an hour, a significant decline in real wages.

Meanwhile, housing and food prices have soared, trapping many in a cycle where each paycheck leaves workers short. Multiple jobs are now necessary just to get by.

“I work part-time at Cub to support my family. I don’t want my son to feel guilty watching mom eat less so he can eat more,” says Taylor Boos, who works at Cub. “Some nights, I only eat rice or some toast and a V8 to afford to keep my son well-nourished. I want to make enough to care for my loved ones at the job that I love.”

In a recent consumer survey run by UFCW 663, consumers flagged staffing shortages as a serious issue. And no wonder. Cub’s new staffing strategy is to buy out full-time workers and limit part-time employees to 15 hours per week. Grocery stores are running on skeleton crews. Products aren’t making it to shelves, and customers can’t find what they need. 

Right now, over 9,000 Twin Cities grocery workers are negotiating new contracts, with one goal: to turn grocery jobs into good jobs. Since the pandemic, grocers have been more profitable than they’ve been in a generation — yet instead of working with us to improve jobs, they want to shift health care costs onto workers, refuse to adequately fund the pension, and refuse to provide workers with raises and hours they need to thrive.  

“I work just under 40 hours a week. I need a tooth pulled, but I can’t afford to do that with the wages I’m making now,” says Duane Bluhm, who works at Kowalski’s Markets. “If my health care costs go up and my wages don’t make up for that, I won’t ever be able to get it addressed. My coworkers and I shouldn’t have to choose between our bills and seeing the doctor.”  

Sylvia O’Brien, a part-time Cub cashier, said that after her husband passed away, she had to plan her retirement herself. “Social security isn’t enough to rely on. I’m 70 now, but if I can get the hours that I need, I’ll be able to afford to retire when I’m 80,” she says. “I deserve to be able to retire someday, and I need to have a job that provides a path for a secure retirement.”

UFCW Local 663 members will fight as hard as necessary to settle a fair contract — to save the pension and win the hours and wages workers deserve.

Workers could go on strike this year if an agreement is not reached, and we urge customers to support good jobs in our communities.

America’s essential workers need to not just survive but live a dignified life.

Workers like Taylor, Duane and Sylvia deserve no less.

And the customers are with us.