Cub Employee Speaks Out About Brooklyn Park Store’s Impending Closure
More than a hundred people work at the Brooklyn Park Cub along West Broadway and Brooklyn Boulevard. Come Nov. 16, all of those employees will have to find work elsewhere.
However, the union that represents those workers is trying to help make that transition as seamless as possible.
“It could happen anywhere. Unfortunately, it happened to us,” said Muhammed Shayan, a Cub employee.
Shayan works as an e-commerce associate at the Brooklyn Park Cub, fulfilling online orders and bringing groceries to people’s vehicles.
He says officials from UFCW Local 663 have been in constant contact with him and his coworkers about options and next steps since learning of the store’s impending closure on Sept. 16.
While Shayan has only worked at Cub a short time, he says some of his colleagues have been here for decades, and this week’s news came as a surprise.
“They were pretty sad, because I was here for seven months, but some people were here for 27 years,” said Shayan. “So, 27 years is a long time, and they should deserve a new job, and I hope the union will give them a chance.”
On Sept. 29, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development will hold several meetings at the Brooklyn Park Cub to inform the staff members of services available to them through the state’s Dislocated Worker and Unemployment Insurance Programs.