Congressman backs hunger strike

MINNEAPOLIS, May 30 (UPI) -- A Minnesota congressman says he supports floor cleaners on a hunger strike for better wages and working conditions in Minneapolis.

U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., was among dozens of protesters who gathered near a Cub Foods supermarket Sunday to express support for the non-union workers pressing the company to help them get more than the approximately $8 an hour they make now and improve their working conditions, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

The cleaners don't work directly for Cub Foods, which is owned by Supervalu Inc. of Eden Prairie, Minn., but for cleaning companies hired by the supermarkets. Supervalu officials contend the workers should deal with their employers, not with Cub, the Star Tribune said.

"I'm a big fan of Cub Foods," Ellison said. "They have given to food shelves. They have given to the tornado victims. They represent the best of the corporate community. ... We look at Cub as a corporate leader who could improve the working conditions for those workers. Just sit down and talk, and come to a conclusion that allows them to have a livable wage."

As of Sunday, the protest had been going on for nine days, with 14 people subsisting on a mixture of water, lemon juice and maple syrup during their hunger strike. Protest organizer Veronica Mendez said six of the protesters had been on the regimen the entire period, the newspaper said.