While the children of the locked-out workers at American Crystal Sugar Co. have written CEO Dave Berg, urging him to end the 14-month lockout of their parents, support for the boycott of American Crystal Sugar products is growing.  

This slideshow highlights some of the action last week as union and community allies took the boycott call to Denver; Duluth, Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn.; Appleton, La Crosse, Madison, Milwaukee and Wausau, Wis.; Wichita, Kan.; Kansas City, Mo.; and Parkersburg, W.Va.

Members of unions from the Chicago Federation of Labor (CFL) and activists from Jobs with Justice demonstrated in front of a Chicago Walmart and urged customers to boycott American Crystal Sugar products and support the workers who have been locked out since Aug. 1, 2011. There have been several actions around the nation this week in support of the workers and the boycott. 

Because of American Crystal Sugar’s continued refusal to end its 14-month lockout of more than 1,300 workers and return to the bargaining table, working families across the country today launched a boycott against American Crystal Sugar (ACS) products. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says:   

Making record profits while giving working families and communities the shaft is just plain wrong.

The growing number of lockouts—where employers close the doors or gates in order to wring concessions out of workers—“represents an overreach on the part of employers,” writes Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson, in an op-ed piece today in the Minneapolis StarTribune.

For examples of these lockouts, Knutson points to the more than 13-month lockout of American Crystal Sugar workers, the NFL lockouts of referees and players, Cooper Tires recent lockout and this month’s lockout of the Minnesota Orchestra (American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada [AFM] Local 30-73), where management is seeking 30% to 50% pay cuts.

Since Aug. 1, 2011, 1,300 American Crystal Sugar Co. workers have been locked out of their jobs in five sugar beet processing plants in Minnesota, North Dakota and Iowa. The locked-out workers are members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM). More than 20 children and grandchildren of the locked-out workers gathered in East Grand Forks, Minn., to write letters to American Crystal Sugar CEO Dave Berg and the board about how the lockout is affecting them, their families and community. 

Watch the YouTube video in the post: "AFL-CIO: Children Speak Out Against the American Crystal Sugar Company Lockout (BCTGM)."

Sign the petition to end the lockout: aflcio.org/endthelockout.

The AFL-CIO has endorsed a nationwide consumer boycott of American Crystal Sugar Co. products starting Oct. 15. The boycott is in response to the company’s 14-month lockout of 1,300 workers at its processing facilities in Minnesota, North Dakota and Iowa. If the company returns to the bargaining table in good faith and reaches an agreement, the boycott will be called off.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says the locked-out workers—members of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM)—“are responsible for American Crystal Sugar’s profitability and previously strong reputation.”

Ten-year-old Sophia Frank wants American Crystal Sugar CEO Dave Berg and the firm’s board members to stop the 13-month lockout of her father and the more than 1,300 workers because, as she wrote in a letter to company officials:

I'm sorta worried that we're about to run out of food or lose our home because my dad’s out of work for so long.

Since August 2011, the more than 1,300 workers at five American Crystal Sugar sugar beet processing plants in Minnesota, North Dakota and Iowa have been locked out. While CEO Dave Berg took in nearly $2.5 million in total compensation last year, the workers and their families have been struggling to keep roofs over their heads and food on the table.

On Saturday, Sept. 22, in East Grand Forks, Minn., the children and grandchildren of the locked-out workers will write Berg and board members to tell them how the lockout has affected their families and their lives and urge the company to return to the bargaining table.

When Susan dePasquale, a former AFSCME member in Cleveland, heard that 1,300 workers at American Crystal Sugar had been locked out from their jobs for more than a year, she immediately volunteered her support.

I was just very moved by what I heard…I wanted to do something. Instead of sending well wishes, I thought I’d write a check.

Help locked-out American Crystal workers. Please donate to the BCTGM Lockout Action Fund, care of  the Minnesota AFL-CIO, 175 Aurora Ave., St. Paul, MN 55103.

When American Crystal Sugar Co. locked out 1,300 workers from five plants in August 2011 because they wouldn't accept a contract that included significant increases to their health care costs and major changes to job security, the company replaced the highly skilled workers (click to enlarge image).

As a result, productivity has plummeted and American Crystal shareholders are losing money. Another sugar beet processing company, Minn-Dak, paid its shareholders roughly the same in 2010 as did American Crystal. But when replacement workers stepped in, American Crystal Sugar's shareholders received $59 a ton—and Minn-Dak's got an estimated $75.05. That's 25 percent less for American Crystal shareholders in fiscal 2011.

Two words describe such management: Really dumb.

Tell American Crystal CEO Dave Berg to stop wasting shareholders’ money and go back to the bargaining table.

Help locked-out American Crystal workers. Please donate to the BCTGM Lockout Action Fund, care of the Minnesota AFL-CIO, 175 Aurora Ave., St. Paul, MN 55103.