[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 17 (Thursday, February 2, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H386]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         CRYSTAL SUGAR LOCK-OUT

  (Mr. ELLISON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, 1,300 Minnesota workers have been denied 
their basic and most fundamental right to work and support their 
families. That's right, yesterday marked the 6-month anniversary of 
workers at the American Crystal Sugar factory in Moorhead being locked 
out. Many of these people have worked for the factory their whole 
lives. Their parents worked there, Mr. Speaker, and their grandparents 
worked there, too.
  These workers have gone to work and have gone to bat for the company. 
These workers, Mr. Speaker, stood shoulder to shoulder with the company 
to fight for a better sugar program in the farm bill just because 
that's how dedicated they are. But what have they got in return? 
They've gotten locked out. They're not on strike. They're locked out 
because they will not accept an unfair take-it-or-leave-it contract. 
These workers even vowed not to strike because they know how important 
their work is, but they have been locked out even though they have 
agreed to a no-strike guarantee.
  It's wrong, Mr. Speaker. These 1,300 folks deserve better from this 
company, and I think the time is now for the company to negotiate.

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