Lockout At American Crystal Sugar

Abstract

As a June 23, 2012, vote neared, union workers at American Crystal Sugar were deciding whether the time had come for them to approve the contract offer by the company. Workers continued to staff picket lines at factory entrances, although enthusiasm for consistently staffing the picket line was waning (Lee 2012(1)). Replacement workers had operated the factories for nine months, successfully processing the 2011 sugar beet harvest. The company reported that although there had been some minor problems, all plants were running at nearly full capacity without the union workers. Company leaders indicated they were “attempting to adjust what they consider an archaic labor contract with newer standards that are competitive with other union rates” (Porter, 2012). The union had consistently been voting down the company’s contract offers for almost a year. Workers stated they were standing firm to protect their jobs, salaries, benefits, and promotion opportunities, and were not willing to give away “rights” they had been fighting for the past 50 years (Kolpack, 2011). Yet, many union workers knew that their bargaining power had been significantly eroded by the company’s ability to operate with non-union replacement workers.