Unless They’re Offering Something New, It’s Time For The American Crystal Union Workers To Move On
The American Crystal Sugar labor dispute is making headlines again, with the union renewing their protests ahead of new talks requested by union leaders.
What I’m wondering is…what’s new? American Crystal Sugar has clearly moved on. They’ve got new workers, and they’re going about their business. They are not accepting what the union has offered to this date. The union, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to be offering anything new other than petty jabs at the company and insults.
The union workers seem to think they’re entitled to jobs at American Crystal, but free economies don’t work that way. Free economies are based on voluntary, mutually beneficial transactions. That goes even for labor contracts. American Crystal has found something the union won’t give them (more reasonable compensation demands) with another labor force.
Unless the union can offer something better, or at least equivalent, why would American Crystal sign a new contract with them?
Markets are competitive, and the workers currently at American Crystal have every much a right to compete with those jobs as the union workers do. That the union doesn’t like being undercut is irrelevant.
Tags: american crystal sugar, North Dakota News, unions
