Crystal Sugar CEO Likens Contract to Cancer | AFL-CIO NOW BLOG

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by Barbara Doherty, Nov 30, 2011

Relations between management and the 1,300 locked-out workers at American Crystal Sugar Co. reached a new low this week, as recordings were made public of company CEO David Berg likening the workers and their contract to a cancerous tumor.

Speaking to shareholders in North Dakota on Nov. 7, Berg told the story of a friend who had a massive cancerous tumor removed. ?He was sick for a long time,? said Berg.

We can?t let a labor contract make us sick forever and ever and ever. We have to treat the disease and that?s what we?re doing here.

?Berg later repeated his cancer analogy, saying,

At some point that tumor?s got to come out. That?s what we?re doing.

Listen to some of Berg?s comments here.

Workers responded to Berg?s remarks with outrage. Sarah Gust, a 40-year employee at American Crystal, remarked,

The fact that Dave Berg would refer to our union, our contract, as a cancerous tumor is deeply offensive to me and many of my co-workers. Some of us have had cancer or have lost loved ones to cancer. It?s a tragic, devastating disease. And that?s how Crystal Sugar management sees our union. I tell you, this just shows how much respect Dave Berg and the management have for us workers.

Workers at American Crystal in Minnesota, North Dakota and Iowa have been out of work since management imposed a lockout on Aug. 1, after workers rejected the company?s final contract offer by a more than nine-to-one margin. The company hired replacement workers and says it is moving to the next phase of its ?contingency plan? by offering wages significantly below those of locked-out workers.?The employees are members of seven locals of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM).

?We?ve seen Dave Berg?s true colors. He is determined to treat contract negotiations as a disease, a tumor to be removed,? said John Riskey, president of BCTGM Local 167G.

We?ve said from the start that we want to negotiate, as long as management comes to the table with reasonable proposals, and not the same take-it-or-leave-it ultimatums.

Workers and the union plan to hold?a press conference Dec. 1 to coincide with the company?s annual meeting and to meet with Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton on Saturday.

You also can contribute to the Sugar Beet Workers fund to help workers during the lockout. Make checks out to: Minnesota AFL-CIO, 175 Aurora Ave., St. Paul, MN 55103. In the memo line, print ?BCTGM Lockout 2011.?

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Source: http://blog.aflcio.org/2011/11/30/crystal-sugar-ceo-likens-contract-to-cancer/

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