Locking out workers is costing American Crystal Sugar Co. shareholders lots of money.

In the first nine months of fiscal year 2011—the period immediately preceding American Crystal Sugar’s lockout of 1,300 employees—American Crystal’s production costs were $382 million (click on graphic
to expand).

The production costs for the first nine months of this fiscal year shot up $90 million to $471 million. That’s more than a 23 percent increase. During the same period, another sugar beet cooperative, Minn-Dak, saw its costs decrease, dropping 16 percent.

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

Now.

Workers like Becki Jacobson (left), who have been locked out of their jobs at American Crystal Sugar Co. for 10 months, yesterday launched a 200-mile journey from Drayton, N.D., to Moorhead, Minn. They are calling on the company—a farmers’ cooperative—to engage in genuine negotiations when the two sides meet in Moorhead on June 8. They seek to draw attention to the ongoing lockout and its impact on their communities. They will camp out each night and invite the public to join them for potluck suppers, live entertainment and fellowship. They hope to discuss their struggles of the past 10 months and how they believe they can resolve this struggle through cooperation and real negotiation.

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.

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.”