Locked-out union workers to vote on Crystal contract offer Saturday
June 22, 2012 at 6:13 am in Grand Forks Herald
Union workers locked out for nearly a year at American Crystal Sugar Co. are planning another vote on the company’s contract offer. The workers have rejected the contract twice previously by overwhelming margins. Continue Reading
It just anmazes me that these people still think they have a snowballs chance of every working at ACS again.
Replacement workers are doing fine and everyone at ACS is content.
If i were the ACS board, i would lower the offer significantly and and let them know that at each future meeting the number would continue to drop.
This needs to just end already, The Union lost.
Tuck your tail between your legs and wander off, you managed to steal dues from 1300 employees until they lost their jobs. your work here is done.
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These people can work at ACS again, all they have to do is sign the contract. I don’t think they have a snowballs chance of ever getting a better offer. They really dropped the ball on this one. What I cannot begin to understand is how the rank and file re-elected Riskey and allow Fromeke to speak on the unions behalf. A guy that led his troops into a no win situation and a gomer that drunk dials and thinks its going to end the lockout. That is what really amazes me!
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Good point George on the re-election of these two clowns. Makes me wonder if anyone else was running against them, or if their Mafia generals merely anointed them again.
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Well you know.. The election was held when there probably is next to no population paying dues to them anymore.. So their votes were the only two cast.
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Brad Nelson…the Drayton spitter…was also in the running. To bad someone with some sense didn’t step up to challenge these three. Dues are half what they were since they reached the 6 month point…now $15.50. You can only be 1 month behind to vote.
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I believe Froemke does not run for office. He is appointed by the AFL-CIO. He is a member of the local BCTGM 167g. But not an officer. Correct me if I am wrong.
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You’re right. I didn’t catch that. It was Scott Ripplinger not Froemke. Good eyes.
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or the usual goon and bully tactics by the union to gain the result they wanted
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They lost the $2000 signing bonus and ten months wages, but the gained…………..NOTHING!!
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Minnesota unemployment benefits have been extended 14 more weeks? Are you kidding me? They may not vote to go back to work.
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Welfare is why people dont work.
Why work when you can just sit on your can and collect free money.
The Democrats have turned this nation into a Welfare state and Minnesota is headed in the same direction as California.
at some point someone in this nation is going to need to wake up and realize that handouts do not equate into helping someone standup.
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Two questions…
1) Why are they being extended? All I can find is people saying the will, but no explanation of why.
2) Who pays for the extension. I know ACS ends up paying for most of the primary benefits, but correct me if I am wrong, but these extended benefits come from taxpayers.
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ACS must think the contract will pass this time. They have started laying off big chunks of the replacement workers. Not the normal seasonal layoffs but the ones they were keeping on over the summer. My son got his walking papers along with 15 on his crew shift. Don’t know how many total.
The management must know something the rest of us don’t
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Have you thought this over? It may not have anything to do with the Union workers coming back. It may have to do with the replacement workers themselfs.
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Maybe they overhired and are laying off the weakest ones.
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The “weakest ones” are the blind followers that haven’t worked in almost a year.
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I don’t know about now days, but it used to be just a skeleton crew in the summer for maintainence and cleaning. Probably just don’t need that many bodies until the next campaign again…
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Ok…I can understand you not liking the commet below….Even though it’s a statement against the coverage rather than the issue…..But this? What is there not to like about someone expressing what they’ve done in the past in the summer….The statement is completely apolitical
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They were replaced by outside contractors. It’s the same thing Union workers go through every summer. Business as usual for the company. It’s all part of the operation. No one is exempt from this. Getting laid off is the risk everyone takes when they go to work for ACSC. This new group will also be able to draw unemployment benefits in large part paid for by the company. They will be back in August unless they found other jobs.
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THX. That’s pretty much what a friend said. Lowest 15 in seniority by job classification. Even without the union seniority is a big factor.
Hopefully this will be his wakeup call & he will get in school or go active duty. Relying on low skill jobs & a fickle market is no way to keep your wife calm or your kids fed.
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In 23 years of being year round, I was never laid off during intercampaign maintenance. Very few ever were. Most of the maintenance was done in house by employees who knew the process and cared about how things would run when the factory was started in the fall. Contractors were only hired for Capital projects,specialty jobs which required special skills, or if it had been a long processing campaign and there was not sufficient time to complete the work before start up again. I don’t ever remember a time when factory end employees were laid off in the middle of ICM.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Riskey was, “very proud of the way the people hung in there.” How disappointed he’ll be today when their prayers are answered and they vote to go back to work.
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It was not a lie. As has been pointed out to another union member, the clause in the contract said no strikes OR lockouts during the contract. The contract ended July 31st, 2011. Therefore the clause died with the contract. I have a copy of the old contract so I know what I’m talking about. A common tactic is for the union to try and get a 3 month extention which would take them into the processing season THEN threaten a strike. Crystal took the actions it did to prevent that. Crystal was ready for the negotiations, the union wasn’t. Crystal was ready to continue processing beets, the union didn’t think it could happen without them, the union made a mistake in that belief.
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No, I think that you’re the one that hasn’t done their homework, I have relatives that are either beet farmers or currently are working employees of Crystal, I have been assured by both that no, the farmers are not up in arms and that yes, while there was bad sugar produced in some of the factories in the beginning, the factories did produce saleable sugar and that a bunch of the bad sugar that was produced was being re-processed in the factories by the end of the year. I have also been told that the juice campaign in Hillsboro following the processing of beets was one of their best ever. So the replacement workers must be picking up the necessary skills and are getting better at it with each passing day.
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Since your comment included a *probably*, I’d like to offer up a *probably* of my own.
“Paul’s statement will be viewed by many and will *probably* be repeated as if it’s a fact by quite a few.”
Say Paul, couldn’t help but notice your bowing out of the whole grievance/Weingarten Rights discussion soon after the misinformation you were passing off as fact over there was debunked.
Comments?
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Unfortunately, I believe you. Unfortunate for the union employees.
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Yes Paul, you troweled out some more misinformation that some folks bought into and at least partially based their vote upon.
Congrats. Proud of yourself? Maybe there’s a “leadership position” in your future? You seem qualified.
I couldn’t help but notice that you aren’t challenging my statement about your information being DEBUNKED because it’s NONSENSE, and that you’re just oh-so-satisfied that you got “your message” out there.
Has it EVER occurred to you what’s at stake here….not just for you, but for the others that cr@p such as yours *helps* inform and base decisions upon?
And finally, yes Paul…you DID bow out of that discussion. Right after accurate and correct information was posted. After that, you had nothin’ left to say. Kid yourself all you want, but it’s OBVIOUS.
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Come one Crystal workers…..You can’t stop now…….If you vote positve…Then the story might not get more play….Hell…Look at how the Herald is really clutching at straws on the Sioux name issue….You’re not going to let them down by taking this away now too are you…..This and the name are their two primary go to topics……Don’t force them to have to actually find something newsworthy…..I mean…Just how cruel can you get?
Hot debate. What do you think?
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I agree. I am in Always withdrawal. It has been darn near a week since someone has posted something so ridiculous and off the wall that you just have to sit back and admire the pyschosis
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I think there’s a nugget that I’m going to try to get out as much as possible…..That is for those who want to actually go to some boards with current topics other than the same two the Herald has…Go to the WDAZ site……They have good boards, but I don’t think they get a lot of visitors
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I think they also have a better variety of articles too
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Let’s go talk about the drug epidemic in the valley while we wait this out on WDAZ or we can go to Duluth and pick on Dead Inside….since he’s back.
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Good observation Tundra about “news worthy” stuff; cracked me up on the current blurb about a Bemidji ND fellow…..
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Wow!!!! I go to WDAZ and the first article that catches my eye was….(Wont let me put the exact wording in)
“Man’s Package Cut Off, Put Through Garbage Disposal” Now that’s one angry ol’ lady….or just a total nutbag…or both…….Ooooooooof Da…..And I’m not even Norsky
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I’m there. As a nurse I work in a profession that is 90% female. I have worked with more than a few boil your bunny types.
Sorry for those too young to get the reference.
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Funny FN, good flick…..
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Don’t answer the door Tundra. One of your ex’s may have read the same article.
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Battle fatigue. Take the deal.
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