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.

United Steelworkers (USW) Local 207L members ratified by a 2-to-1 margin a new five-year contract with Cooper Tire and Rubber Company  The vote ends a three-month lockout at the company's Findlay, Ohio tire plant. USW Local 207L President Rodney Nelson says:

We are proud to have remained united and delivered a fair contract, despite Cooper's best attempts to divide us.

This just in: There is now a tentative agreement between the United Steelworkers (USW) and Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., with a vote expected on Monday.

Locked-out workers from American Crystal Sugar and Cooper Tire will begin a 1,000-mile Journey for Justice tomorrow from Fargo, N.D., to Findlay, Ohio. The journey will highlight the corporate greed that marks their lockouts, and the growing drive by corporate CEOs to drive down wages and benefits to pad their own pockets.

Amy Masciola, a union campaign consultant, sends us this.

More than six months ago, American Crystal Sugar Co. locked out more than 1,300 sugar beet workers in the Red River Valley of Minnesota and North Dakota. Two months ago, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. locked out more than 1,000 workers in Findlay, Ohio. Last week, Caterpillar announced it would shut down a plant in Ontario, just over one month after locking out 500 workers. Rio Tinto Alcan locked out 750 workers in Quebec Jan. 1. HealthBridge locked out 800 nursing home workers in Connecticut in December. As Laura Clawson at the Daily Kos notes, “For evidence of a war on workers, look no further than the rise of the lockout.”