Catherwood LibraryILR School

While the number of strikes has dropped over the last twenty years, the number of company lockouts has increased. Professional sports lockouts have garnered attention this year, even as workers at the New York City Opera, a Cooper Tire factory and sugar beet processing workers have all been locked out by their employers. Experts say that lockouts are a way for companies to assert themselves over their workers, and their unions, who they feel have too much.For workers at American Crystal Sugar, which uses beets to produce sugar, the lockout has lasted more than five months, and many families are struggling to make ends meet. The company wanted concessions, despite record profits and workers say that they are not willing to give in.