Absurd: Union Invokes Martin Luther King In Criticizing American Crystal
Over the weekend, American Cyrstal management and union representatives met at an informal meetings to talk about re-starting negotiations. The union decided to use the occasion for a publicity stunt, introducing a proposal at the meeting (where such proposals weren’t to be made) while simultaneously issuing a press release to the public condemning the company for rejecting the proposal.
And when American Crystal cried foul about the stunt? The union accused them of violating the memory of Martin Luther King.
“We think it is ironic that on this day, as we honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King — one of this nation’s greatest advocates for workers’ rights — the company has once again decided to reject its workers’ sincere attempts to resolve this dispute,” Riskey said. “We are reminded that on the day that Dr. King was assassinated, he was in Memphis to support striking sanitation workers in their fight for dignity and justice on the job.”
“The company’s obstinacy only strengthens our resolve,” he said. “We will continue to take our message — our demand for dignity and fairness — to the public, elected officials, to Crystal Sugar customers and to the growers.”
All this stalking strengthening resolve is pretty bold given that, by all appearances, the union ranks are eroding pretty quickly. They’ve been out of work for months, and from what I’m told by sources familiar with the situation a lot of the workers have terminated their employment at American Crystal to take jobs elsewhere, such as the oil patch.
At this point, I’d be interested in a count indicating just how many workers the union still represents. Because I think their ranks are greatly diminished, and who could blame the workers from abandoning this fool’s errand?