The now five-month long American Crystal Sugar lockout has created hardship and economic distress in the Red River Valley.
Given the hardship the lockout has caused, Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson and North Dakota AFL-CIO President Gary Granzotto called on the leadership of the Cass-Clay United Way to ask American Crystal CEO Dave Berg to end the lockout or rescind his position on the United Way Board of Trustees.
“Union members in the Red River Valley have contributed millions of dollars to support the community through the United Way over the years,” said Knutson. “In addition to union members’ contributions, which the United Way needs, union members and their families volunteer their time serving others.
“Now, American Crystal Sugar’s CEO Dave Berg, a local United Way leader, has forced 1,300 union workers and their families to utilize the very United Way services they have supported through their contributions of money and time,” Granzotto said. “It’s a contradiction for David Berg to be raising money for United Way while significantly adding to the number of people who need its services.”
Knutson and Granzotto both stressed the importance of the relationship between labor unions and the United Way and said Berg and the American Crystal lockout are straining that relationship.
Said Knutson, “The long-standing Labor/United Way relationship is one we desire to continue. However, the relationship in the Red River Valley now seems to be jeopardy due to the actions of a few.”
The time for action is now before it is too late for the company, the union workers, the local communities, and the local United Way, added Granzotto, “Dave Berg needs to either end this lockout or leave his position with the United Way.”