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Home » Recent News » No Sweet Deal for American Crystal Sugar


No Sweet Deal for American Crystal Sugar

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American Crystal Sugar informed union workers that the company is beginning to “prepare for the possibility of a labor dispute,” even though the current contract won’t expire until August 2017. The announcement came after an American Crystal lawyer contacted the union’s lawyer in November 2015 asking for early negotiations. Local 167G of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers union leadership said it was simply too early to reopen the contract. Crystal Sugar had wanted to extend the current contract through July 31, 2021 though some provisions, such as wages, would be up for negotiation.

“To send out a letter talking about the possibility of a strike so far in advance seems unnecessarily aggressive and counterproductive,” John Budd, a labor relations expert at the University of Minnesota told the Star Tribune. “It seems like the company is trying to pick a fight, or trying to create dissension within the rank-and-file in order to weaken the union.” The nation’s largest beat producer, Crystal has three sugar mills in Minnesota, plus two more in North Dakota.







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