AFL-CIO and Working Families Launch Crystal Sugar Boycott

16 Oct AFL-CIO and Working Families Launch Crystal Sugar Boycott

Posted at 08:54h in American Crystal Sugar, Boycotts, Corporate Greed, Jobs, Local Union News by bctgm

With the endorsement of the AFL-CIO, working families throughout the country have launched a nationwide consumer boycott of American Crystal Sugar products in response to Crystal’s Sugar 14-month lockout of 1,300 BCTGM members. The AFL-CIO noted that the boycott will be called off if the management of Crystal Sugar, which has denied its workers the opportunity to do their jobs, returns to the bargaining table in good faith and concludes a contract.

This consumer boycott is part of the broader labor movement’s continued support for the locked-out members of the BCTGM. American Crystal Sugar management locked out the workers from their jobs more than a year ago, denying them incomes and healthcare benefits. The national labor movement endorses boycotts cautiously and only in instances of grave injustice.

“The twelve million union families of the AFL-CIO are proud to stand with the courageous locked-out workers who are responsible for American Crystal Sugar’s profitability and previously strong reputation,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said.

“As we saw with the lockout of the NFL referees, locking out skilled workers who do important, unglamorous work hurts not only the workers, but the product and the bottom line. We hope that this boycott will encourage Crystal Sugar to finally respect its workers, who worked so hard every day to make Crystal Sugar a highly profitable industry leader.”

Trumka continued, “Crystal Sugar workers have been locked out since August 1^st of last year because Crystal Sugar’s CEO, after rewarding himself with a fifty percent pay increase for his union workers’ increased productivity, decided to try to break the workers’ union. Berg’s actions have endangered the generation of labor peace that made Crystal Sugar an industry leader. We hope that American Crystal Sugar will return to the bargaining table to conclude a contract and end the corporation’s sliding reputation and bottom line. With good faith by Crystal Sugar’s management, the corporation can return to its previous course of harmonious labor relations and profitability.”