North Dakota lawmakers deny benefits to locked out workers at American Crystal Sugar
North Dakota lawmakers have denied workers who have been locked out by American Crystal Sugar since August 1st unemployment benefits. About 1,300 workers have been locked out. A committee of the legislature killed the proposal, and one representative said that they need to focus on other issues, and that it felt like choosing sides. The unions have released a statement criticizing the decision, and said that they were penalizing workers for something that was not their fault. The workers rejected the most recent contract offer by 90%.
See "North Dakota lawmakers deny benefits to locked out workers at American Crystal Sugar", Jon Collins, The Minnesota Independent, November 7, 2011