Pure corporate greed at American Crystal
American Crystal Sugar (ACS) locked out 1,300 workers at facilities in North Dakota and Minnesota in August 2011 for rejecting a concessionary contract. The workers, members of Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) Local 167G, organized a joint Journey for Justice tour with members of United Steel Workers Local 207L from Cooper Tire in Findlay, Ohio, where workers were also locked out until they recently ratified a new contract.
The tour included rallies at companies where ACS sugar is distributed, such as Wal-Mart, as well as meetings with trade union activists and supporters in cities and towns across the Midwest to discuss the struggle and raise funds for locked-out workers.
Nathan Rahm, a BCTGM Local 167G member and ACS worker in North Dakota, talked to about the struggle and tour.
WHY DID American Crystal Sugar management impose the lockout on workers?
ACS LOCKED us out due to corporate greed, plain and simple. Our CEO would like everyone to believe they are "planning for the future," but the numbers don't lie. The past five years, we have made record profits for both the growers and the company, so they aren't financially struggling.
It all comes down to taking more from the middle class and giving it to the 1 percent instead. We were willing to work without a contract or even a one-year extension of our contract, while they could [negotiate] a new contract, but ACS decided to lock us out anyway.
OVER 400 of the locked-out ACS workers in North Dakota aren't receiving unemployment benefits. How is this impacting the workers and their families?
IT HAS been devastating for many of our members. We have many families who had both husband and wife locked out, so it becomes an even greater strain. Many people reluctantly signed up for food and fuel assistance. Some of these people had never had to use these services in their lives. It's a tough pill to swallow for many.
The union helps us by giving those of us in North Dakota a hundred dollars every week. We also have a hardship committee, which helps people who are in financial strain and can't pay their bills any other way. All of the money in this fund has been donated by other unions and supporters of our fight. Some people have also tried to find either part or full-time work while this is going on. Overall, we aren't doing great, but we are still in the fight.
YOU'VE BEEN locked-out now since last August. It doesn't sound like the employer is budging. Do you think progress can be made?
YES. WE are now entering our eighth month, and while no talks are scheduled for the future, I do believe an agreement will be made.
The bottom line is this: the company is struggling to make a quality product with the scab workforce in place right now. Sooner or later, the truth will come to light, and we have already witnessed some of that coming out. In November, they issued their quarterly report and their profits fell 39 percent, or $73.6 million. They can't keep losing money like this. I believe in the next few months, they will sit down and negotiate with the union.
WHAT IS the union strategy now?
OUR STRATEGY is to try and reach out to the growers, who have the power to end this at any time, and make them aware that not only is this thing going to affect their bottom line, but it will also result in tarnishing the brand of American Crystal Sugar.
We are also putting pressure on the company by reaching out to its customers such as Nestle, General Mills, Hershey, etc., and letting them know that product quality is suffering on a daily basis, and that they should be aware of this.
YOU RECENTLY traveled across six Midwestern states with the Journey for Justice tour. How was the tour initiated?
THE JOURNEY started through Facebook. A member of our union started a group for all locked-out workers in the United States to join, and as a result, friendships were formed. Soon after, the idea of doing a trip with our fellow locked-out brothers and sisters from Ohio formed.
WHAT KIND of response did the tour receive?
THE RESPONSE was amazing. We went across six states, and no matter what the location, the feeling of concern and solidarity was the same everywhere.
Coming from a state with only 600,000 people we sometimes get the feeling that we are in the "middle of nowhere," and that people might not be able to identify with what we are going through. That was not the case at all. Whether it was our fellow members in the BCTGM, the USW or any other like-minded individuals along the way, everyone was very receptive.
HOW HAVE you been impacted by this struggle? What do you think it means for workers across the U.S.?
THIS LOCKOUT has changed my life. Prior to it happening, I was just a normal card-carrying union member, and didn't have much involvement in what was going on. That has all changed. I have been active in trying, without any immediate success, to get unemployment for the locked-out workers in North Dakota. I also have had many chances to share my story and the struggles of others in my town on the road.
I realize now that the United States is at a crossroads in a sense. Those of us in the lower-middle class are being directly attacked by corporations on a daily basis, and we need to strike back against these injustices head on. If we don't, there won't be a future for our kids. I have found out that no matter if I am in North Dakota, Illinois or Ohio, the struggle is the same and just as tough, no matter the location.
Even if this lockout ends tomorrow, I am never going to stop standing up and rallying people together to fight back.
HOW CAN people support your struggle?
THEY CAN support us by going to our website CrystalGreed.com and donate to our action fund or our hardship fund, which will help us help our members and battle American Crystal through our corporate campaign. People can also sign our petition and let [ACS boss] Dave Berg know that he should let us go back to work.
They can also support us by not buying any American Crystal Sugar, and instead buying cane sugar. Also, I believe it helps to spread awareness and let people know that even though this may not be in your backyard, it may very well be tomorrow. We all need to band together and mobilize.
