NOTES

CHAPTER I

1. Between 1981 and 1985 meatpacking had the highest rate of job-related injuries and illnesses of any industry, according to “A beef about the meat men,” Time, August 3, 1987; “Legacy of Pain,” special edition of The Unionist, publication of Local P-9, Austin, Minnesota, May 1985, p. 2.

2. Interview with Darrell Busker, November 21, 1987.

3. “Effort to save pay scales in meatpacking brings Lewie Anderson many spats, not all with firms,” Wall Street Journal, August 4, 1983.

4. Minneapolis Star and Tribune, December 21, 1984; New York Times, December 25, 1984; Des Moines Sunday Register, January 27, 1985; Minneapolis Star and Tribune, March 31, 1985; press release purportedly from UFCW Hormel and Wilson chain [later repudiated by several signatories], Albert Lea, Minnesota, March 22, 1985; Labor World, April 18, 1985; press release, UFCW, Washington, D.C., August 16, 1985; letter, UFCW president William Wynn to all presidents of National and International Unions Affiliated with the AFL-CIO, December 3, 1985; “Special Report: UFCW Local P-9 Strikes Hormel: The International Union’s Perspective,” UFCW Leadership Update, 8, no. 4 (February 1986); James V. Guyette, affidavit in support of Plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction, Local P-9 v. UFCW, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, May 2, 1986, pp. 25–26 and 42–43; strike settlement agreement, dated November—1986.

5. Telephone interview with Fred Carson, February 4, 1987.

6. Interview with Vicky Guyette, July 5, 1987.

7. Interview with Jeannie Bambrick, July 5, 1987.

8. Interview with Ray Rogers, July 12, 1987.

9. Mimi Conway, Rise Gonna Rise: A Portrait of Southern Textile Workers (Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1979), pp. 2–11.

10. “How the textile union finally wins contracts at J. P. Stevens plants,” Wall Street Journal, October 20,1980; “Unions: labor’s new muscle,” Newsweek, April 3, 1978.

11. “Farm group boycotting Campbell puts focus on financial concerns,” New York Times, November 27, 1984; press release, “FLOC signs three-way contracts with Campbell and growers,” February 20, 1986.

12. Interview with Ray Rogers, June 1987; “Brown & Sharpe strikers resist givebacks as eight month walkout grows violent,” Wall Street Journal, June 23, 1982; “Ray Rogers: an organizer beset by troubles,” New York Times, September 19,1982; “Paper avoids a replay of J. P. Stevens,” Business Week, June 27, 1983.

13. Jeannie Bambrick and Vicky Guyette interviews.

14. “P-9 Fights Back,” special edition of The Unionist, January 1985, p. 2; “Who’s Behind Hormel’s Cold Cuts,” leaflet of Local P-9, undated; St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, December 6, 1985; Rochester Post-Bulletin, December 6, 1985.

15. “The Hormel Foundation and Austin: In Whose Best Interest?” special edition of The Unionist, June 1985.

16. “Hormel Safety Facts,” March 1985, Austin, Minnesota, unpaginated.

17. “Legacy of Pain,” p. 3.

18. Ibid., p. 2.

19. Interview with Carl Pontius, July 5, 1987.

20. Minneapolis Star and Tribune, April 25, 1985; St Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, April 25, 1985.

21. Interview with Jim Guyette, May 1987; Rogers interview, July 12, 1987; Guyette affidavit, pp. 18–22; “UFCW plots major campaign against ConAgra/Armour,” UFCW Action, January–February 1985. ConAgra itself saw the announced campaign as a non-event. “We’ve been hearing about boycott activities for a year,” a company spokesman said. Quoted in “Union announces boycott against Armour products,” Chicago Tribune, December 22, 1984.

22. Press release, UFCW International Union, Washington, D.C., December 22, 1984.

23. Press release, UFCW International Union, January 8, 1985.

24. Letter, William Wynn to “All UFCW Local Unions and Intermediate Chartered Bodies in Regions 11 and 13 and All Local Unions in the United States Representing Packinghouse Workers,” March 7, 1985.

25. “Anderson asks Guyette to schedule meet,” Austin Daily Herald, March 15, 1985; press release, “from UFCW Hormel and Wilson Chain,” March 22, 1985; “Local criticized over Hormel fight,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, March 23, 1987. Later, several of the local presidents whose names appeared on the press release said that they had no knowledge of its existence; 98 out of 130 of Beloit, Wis., Local 73-A members signed a petition rebuking their president, and a similar petition was circulated in the Albert Lea, Minn., Farmstead Foods plant. See “Lewie Visits Austin, Minn.,” Labor World, April 18, 1985; “Harder To Fight The Boss When Union’s On His Side,” The Guardian, May 15, 1985.

26. “International Union officials turn down invitation to Austin,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, January 15, 1985; “Anderson asks Guyette to schedule meet,” Austin Daily Herald; “Split between International union, Hormel local widens,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, February 21, 1985. Anderson was in regular contact with the Austin police regarding the scheduling of his trip to the town and security during it, according to Austin Police Chief Donald Hoffman, memos of February 22 and April 12, 1985, obtained through a Minnesota Government Data Practices Act request and in author’s possession.

27. “Hormel union’s fund vote invalid,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, April 11, 1985.

28. “Lewie visits Austin, Minn.,” Labor World; “International still won’t back Austin P-9,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, April 15, 1985; audio tape of the meeting in the author’s possession.

29. “UFCW head criticizes P-9 leadership,” Austin Daily Herald, May 15, 1985.

30. “Local P-9 at a crossroads,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, June 1, 1985.

31. “Hormel union members back leaders,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, June 3,1985; “P-9 okays funding corporate campaign,” Austin Daily Herald, June 14, 1985. On the second vote, officers would only say that the assessment was approved by 65 percent of the approximately 1,200 who voted, without giving exact numbers.

32. The contract expiration date was a matter of dispute and not resolved until July 12, 1985, by arbitrator George Fleischli. The “Supplemental Arbitration Award,” in the several-part “Arbitration Between Geo. A. Hormel and Local P-9, UFCW” determined the date to be August 9.

33. “P-9 Proposals for Modification of Existing Agreements with Hormel at the Austin Plant,” dated July 1, 1985.

34. Interview with Guyette, November 19, 1987.

35. “Initial Proposal for an Agreement Between Geo. A. Hormel and UFCW Local #P-9,” undated.

36. “Second proposal for an Agreement Between Geo. A. Hormel and UFCW Local #P-9,” stamped “Received July 31, 1985.”

37. Jim Guyette, negotiation notes, dated August 3–8, 1985. Guyette made lengthy notes of each meeting, in each case noting the date and those in attendance, and frequently quoting statements of negotiators from both sides—including his own statements—almost as if he were recording secretary rather than a chief negotiator.

38. “Third Proposal for an Agreement Between Geo. A. Hormel & Co. and UFCW Local #P-9,” undated.

39. Guyette negotiation notes, dated August 3–8.

40. Interview with Ron Rollins, November 20, 1987. As for P-9’s “inexperience,” UFCW Region 13 director Joe Hansen attended all negotiating sessions after August 4. Had there been a problem of local incompetence, the International might have taken note at that time. On the Krukowski law firm see “Strike force; lawyer takes tough stand against unions,” Milwaukee Journal, June 17, 1986.

41. Memo of Hoffman to Kough and Alderman Dahlback, dated June 17, 1985; memo of Hoffman entitled “Recent meetings that we have been involved in regarding the Hormel-Local 9 problem,” dated July 9, 1985. Both obtained through a Minnesota Government Data Practices Act request.

42. Interview with Carole Apold, April 1987.

CHAPTER II

1. Fred H. Blum, Toward a Democratic Work Process: The Hormel-Packinghouse Workers’ Experiment (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1953), pp. 37, 54.

2. Ibid., pp. 15–34, 61–62; Larry Engelmann, “‘We Were the Poor People’—The Hormel Strike of 1933,” Labor History 15 (Fall 1974): 490–93, 508–10; George Fleischli, “Arbitration Award: Arbitration Between Geo. A. Hormel and Local P-9, UFCW,” dated February 6, 1984, Madison, Wisconsin.

3. Stanley Aronowitz, “Cold cuts,” Village Voice, April 22, 1986.

4. Blum, Democratic Work Process, p. 22.

5. All of this was quite a change from pre-union days, when workers were poorly paid, subject to prolonged seasonal layoffs or furloughs when new products failed to meet expectations, and callously abused by foremen who, according to one historian, “took particular delight in periodically attempting to destroy the self-respect and independence of the company’s laborers.” Foremen had broad powers to hire and fire and used them to “trade workers” (one laying off a worker, another hiring him back into a different department at a lower wage), to win favors, and to bully workers into voting for company-approved political candidates. See Engelmann, “‘We Were the Poor People,’” pp. 487–89.

6. Blum, Democratic Work Process, pp. 15–17, 22–24, 33–34, 208–9; quotation from interview with Jim Guyette, May 1987. In Blum’s words, the Working Agreement meant that “workers administer a considerable section of the work process; the whole system of job assignments and transfers and the speed at which they are working is self-determined. Furthermore, they can express their dissatisfactions about anything connected with working conditions” (p. 24).

7. Blum, Democratic Work Process, pp. 57–60, 126.

8. Engelmann, “‘We Were the Poor People,’” pp. 499–503.

9. Richard Dougherty, In Quest of Quality: Hormel’s First 75 Years (Austin, Minn.: Geo. A. Hormel & Co., 1966), pp. 197–200, 224–39.

10. Ibid., pp. 258–92, 321–33, and passim. The “tar-paper shack” comment (not referred to by Dougherty) has entered local Austin folklore. It is said to have been overheard at the Austin country club, where Thompson was complaining about the fact that Austin workers had such nice homes. A small “M. B. Thompson tar-paper shack” mounted on a flat-bed truck was a regular feature of Local P-9’s 1985–87 parades through Austin.

11. Blum, Democratic Work Process, pp. 9–13; Engelmann, ‘"We Were the Poor People,’” pp. 489–506, 508–10; Frank W. Schultz, “The History of Our Union from 1933–1949,” The Unionist, May-June 1971; Rick Halpern and Roger Horowitz, “The Austin Orbit: Regional Union Organizing in Meat Packing, 1933–1943,” manuscript; David Brody, The Butcher Workmen: A Study of Unionization (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1964), pp. 161–68, 225. Ellis was elected one of the UPWA’s first two vice presidents, and Lewis Clark of Cedar Rapids became president. Two years later Clark was succeeded by Ralph Helstein, a Minneapolis lawyer who had represented Local 9 (Blum, Democratic Work Process, p. 17; Brody, Butcher Workmen, p. 226).

12. Interview with Charles Nyberg, April 21, 1988; interview with Lewie Anderson, April 5, 1988.

13. The infamous “fortress IBP” is still operating in Dakota City, Nebraska, where it was struck again in 1987; David Moberg, “The return of the Jungle,” In These Times, July 24-August 6, 1985, pp. 12–14; “Meatpackers union is facing wage issue,” Wall Street Journal, May 19, 1986; Roger Horowitz, “Meatpacker unionism gutted,” Against the Current, new series, 1, no. 6 (1986): 6; “UFCW Local P-9 strikes Hormel: The International union’s perspective,” UFCW Leadership Update, February 1986; “Hormel: Trying to Trim the Industry’s Fattest Wages to Keep Making Money in Meat,” Business Week, September 10, 1984.

14. “History flavors potential Hormel strike,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, August 5, 1985; “Transition Agreement Between Geo. A. Hormel & Company and Local P-9 AMC&BW, AFL-CIO”; interview with Jim Guyette, November 19, 1987.

15. The four previous unions were the Retail Clerks, the Amalgamated Meat Cutters & Butcher Workmen (the old AFL craft union), the United Packinghouse Workers of America (the old CIO union), and the Boot & Shoe Workers Union. The majority of UFCW leaders, including President William Wynn, are from the old Retail Clerks union,

16. Letter, UFCW president William Wynn to UFCW Locals, December 18, 1981; “Summary of the Main Features of the Hormel Settlement,” UFCW document dated December 11, 1981.

17. Interview with Jim Apold, March 1987.

18. Guyette interview, May 1987.

19. Horowitz, “Meatpacker unionism gutted,” p. 7; Memorandum of Agreement between UFCW and Geo. A. Hormel & Co., 1982–1985, with cover letter dated December 16, 1981; letter, Wynn to UFCW locals, December 18,1981; James V. Guyette, affidavit in support of Plantiff’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction, Local P-9 v. UFCW, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, May 2, 1986, p. 6.

20. Guyette interview, May 1987.

21. Guyette affidavit, pp. 4–7; Guyette interview, November 18, 1987.

22. Guyette interview, November 18, 1987.

23. Geo. A. Hormel & Co., reprint of “Austin: A plant of superlatives,” from Meat Industry, February 1983.

24. Blum, Democratic Work Process, p. 2; the Meat Industry article, written in 1983, says: “With productivity and efficiency foremost among the factors that went into the plant’s design . . . the actual reduction [of labor] was over 40 percent, from close to 2000 employees down to about 1150” (Hormel reprint, p. 4). There were approximately 1,500 employees there by the time of the strike.

25. Members had agreed to an arrangement whereby the incentive pay of old-plant workers would be held in escrow by the company as a sort of loan to build the new plant. In exchange, the company agreed to pay the loan back in weekly installments added on to the base wage at the new plant, and to continue such payments even after the loan was repaid. However, the bulk of old-plant workers never made it to the new plant, and at the time of the strike only 800 of the plant’s 1,500 workers were eligible for escrow payments. Guyette interview, November 19, 1987.

26. Pete Winkels, letter to the editor, Rochester Post-Bulletin, January 17, 1985.

27. For meeting, letter of protest, and the International’s response, see Guyette affidavit, pp. 7–10.

28. Ibid., pp. 11–12.

29. “UFCW Local P-9 strikes Hormel: The international union’s perspective,” UFCW Leadership Update, February 1986.

30. Guyette affidavit, pp. 13–17. In point of fact, there were several arbitration decisions, all to clear up points obscured by the existence of so many contracts. On February 6, 1984, arbitrator George Fleischli ruled that Hormel had the right to cut wages at some point in the future if a decreasing industry pattern was established. This evil omen came prior to the July meeting at which Anderson urged P-9’s leaders to guarantee support for a chain-wide strike—Guyette and other P-9ers still hoped that the 1982 reopener’s “no reduction in rates” language would prevent such a reduction. In October 1984 the company cut wages to $8.25, and in December of that year, Fleischli ruled that although the company had jumped the gun, its wage cuts could stand. Since the “no reduction in rates” language did not exist (as Guyette says he learned the night before the union’s brief for the second Fleischli arbitration was filed), no argument about that language was made. A third arbitration ruling came on March 16, 1985. On that date Fleischli determined that the national pattern could be derived from wages and benefits existing at Swift & Co., Oscar Mayer, and John Morrell & Co. and thus set at $8.75, rather than the $8.25 level imposed by Hormel in October. However, his ruling on a variety of fringes and benefits meant, in effect, that Hormel had “overpaid” on those accounts. The result was an attempt by the company to reclaim on an individual basis money paid out for medical benefits in the past—a move that further inflamed P-9 passions.

31. Guyette affidavit, pp. 23–24.

32. Winkels, letter to editor; Guyette quoted in “Rogers steers Hormel campaign into final two months,” Labor World, February 21, 1985.

CHAPTER III

1. UFCW Region Council 13 Executive Board, “Region Council 13 Resolution,” August 27, 1985. This document, handed out as a press release, supported the local so long as its goals were restricted to a $10.00 per hour minimum base rate with no two-tier, a weekly guarantee of 36 hours, Monday through Friday, common expiration dates, and “fair and equitable language throughout the contract.” With these limitations, the region officially sanctioned the strike and approved strike benefits “for a period of four weeks.”

2. Paul Klauda, “Hormel CEO ‘cares and hurts’ but not giving in,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, May 26, 1985.

3. “Local P-9 at a crossroads,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, June 1, 1985. The original understanding between CCI and Local P-9 covered a six-month pre-strike campaign of organizational services, research, literature creation, and public relations in exchange for a fee of $160,000, with a performance bonus to be calculated on the basis of the agreed-to hourly wage at Hormel. In December 1984 Rogers told the P-9 members that they should raise a “war chest” of $340,000 (or about $200 per member) to cover those fees plus the other expenses of a six-month campaign. But Rogers has a habit of forgoing fees when the client has difficulty paying them. In this case, a couple of extra months’ services were thrown in for free, taking the campaign up through August, when the strike began. In the end, CCI took in only around $111,000 for two years’ work.

4. “‘Proud, loud’ Hormel union taking its crusade on the road,” Milwaukee Journal, September 18, 1985.

5. See, for example, “Strike clock ticking at Hormel Co.,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, August 4, 1985.

6. Interview with Lynn Huston, July 5, 1987.

7. As recalled by P-9er Glen Beckman, August 1985.

8. Interview with Merrell Evans, July 5, 1987.

9. Huston interview.

10. Interview with Ray Rogers, July 12, 1987. Police in all locations knew of P-9’s coming, from the press, from P-9 itself, and from Austin’s Chief Hoffman, whose files suggest that he telephoned them.

11. Remarks of Jim Guyette, Fremont, Nebraska, August 29, 1985, as recorded at the time by the author.

12. All quotations from the author’s transcript of the Fremont meeting, August 29, 1985.

13. The characterization of these two work forces is based on interviews with Fremont worker Bob Langemeier, Ottumwan Larry McClurg, Lynn Huston, and Jim Guyette, July 4–5, 1987. The Fremont worker’s remark is from my transcript of the Fremont meeting, August 29, 1985.

14. Langemeier interview, July 4, 1987.

15. Rogers interview, July 12, 1987.

16. Interview with Jim Guyette, July 6, 1987. Eighty P-9 members went back to Algona, Iowa, on September 5 for a more complete canvassing of that community, bannering and leafleting at the Hormel and Snap-On-Tool plants and at a farm implement foreclosure sale in Britt, Iowa. As in the previous caravan, P-9ers met with day- and night-gang Hormel workers at a local park and got a grilling about past “chain” history. Then, during a roadside meeting, P-9 board member Jim Retterath received assurances of local support from Local P-31 business agent Paul Fortune. See The Unionist, September 13, 1985.

17. “Executive of the company is following the caravan,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, September 1, 1985; in contrast, Nyberg told the Ottumwa Courier that he was there to discuss plant operational matters and not because of the Austin strikers. Ottumwa Courier, August 28, 1985.

18. “Hormel official faults State Patrol for allowing picketing in Fremont,” Omaha World-Herald, August 30,1985.

19. “On the road with the Hormel strikers,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, September 1, 1985.

20. Interview with Cecil Cain, July 6, 1987.

21. “Hormel strikers receive food donations,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, September 2, 1985.

22. “Hormel posts 83% earnings gain and predicts strong 4th quarter,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, August 21, 1985.

23. “Hormel puts final contract offer into effect,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, August 29, 1985.

24. “Hormel files complaints accusing Local P-9 of secondary boycotts,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, September 1, 1985.

25. Remarks in Fremont, Nebraska, August 29, 1985.

26. “Hormel opponents bring campaign north,” Duluth News-Tribune & Herald, September 4, 1985; “Strikers ‘on the road,’” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, September 5, 1985.

27. “Picketing of banks hits snag,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, September 10, 1985.

28. “String of rulings against P-9 goes on,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, September 11, 1985. Winkels’ words were prophetic: In 1988 the U.S. Supreme Court vindicated his position in Edward J. DeBartolo Corp. v. Florida Gulf Coast Building and Construction Trades Council and N.L.R.B., 56 USLW 4328 (April 20).

29. “Hormel workers ignore NLRB order, picket Des Moines bank,” Austin Daily Herald, September 11, 1985.

30. “Strikers, U fans share a goal—win!” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, September 13, 1985.

31. “Union to Austin strikers: Stay away,” Sioux Falls Argus Leader, September 18, 1985.

32. Edward J. Devitt, U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, Third Division, Memorandum of Decision, case of Ronald M. Sharp, Regional Director of the 18th Region of the NLRB v. Local P-9; “Judge orders P-9 to halt bank picketing,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, September 23,1985.

33. “Union hails NLRB pact as victory,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, September 25, 1985; “Pact with NLRB drops charges against P-9,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, September 25,1985; “Hormel, P-9 settle complaint but bicker,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, September 25, 1985. Each of these stories portrayed the NLRB and Hormel as outflanked and somewhat in disarray, while the union and CCI were shown as happy with the outcome.

34. “Union’s right to boycott upheld,” In These Times, October 9, 1985.

35. Letter, Winkels to Minnesota AFL-CIO delegates, dated September 22, 1985.

36. Press release, “Minnesota AFL-CIO supports fair trade, South Africa divestiture, striking unions, boycotts of Union Brass and Shopko Company,” Minnesota State AFL-CIO, September 27, 1985; “Hormel workers get morale boost at AFL-CIO meeting,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, September 24, 1985.

CHAPTER IV

1. Interview with Vicky Guyette, July 5, 1987.

2. “Economic Hardships Riddle Austin,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, October 10, 1985.

3. Interview with Jeannie Bambrick, July 5, 1987.

4. Vicky Guyette interview.

5. Ibid.

6. Jeannie Bambrick interview.

7. Rick Halpern and Roger Horowitz, “The Austin Orbit: Regional Union Organizing in Meat Packing, 1933–1943,” manuscript.

8. Interview with Jake Cooper, January 10, 1988.

9. The Unionist, October 4, 1985.

10. Peter Rachleff, “The Hormel Strike: Turning Point for the Rank-and-File Labor Movement,” Socialist Review, no. 89 (September–October 1986): 77; undated letter entitled “UFCW Region 13 Food Caravan” and signed by Joseph T. Hansen, UFCW Region 13 director, distributed on October 19, 1985.

11. Interview with Cecil Cain, July 6, 1987. An article appearing in The Unionist on October 4, 1985, reports that 49 members of communications teams had visited 38 groups in the previous weeks. Among the groups listed were the St. Paul Federation of Teachers, the American Life Insurance Company, two locals of the Brotherhood of Railway and Airline Clerks, six State, County and Municipal Employees locals, and the Jobs For Peace Coalition. The communications committee’s log featured hundreds of entries showing groups visited, accompanied by comments on how well the visitors were received and the amount donated, if any.

12. Interview with Ray Rogers, July 12, 1987.

13. Interview with Cindy Rudd, July 6, 1987.

14. “Perpich pushes for Hormel talks,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, October 3, 1985; “Federal mediator asks Hormel, P-9 to talk,” Austin Daily Herald, October 4,1985; “Hormel, union, mediator to resume talks Monday,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, October 8, 1985.

15. “Hormel talks held in Rochester show no significant progress,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, October 15, 1985. According to Winkels and Guyette, P-9’s “floating wage” proposal would have guaranteed the company profits of $7.5 million per quarter, or $30 million a year. If Hormel made more, the excess would be distributed to the workers in the form of a raise; if less, the workers would take a pay cut. Guyette noted that the idea was first floated to the company in 1984, having been thought up by union member Ward Halverstam, who later joined the local’s anti-Guyette dissidents and crossed the picket line. Interviews conducted on November 20–22, 1987.

16. “NLRB rules Hormel workers’ Wis. demonstration illegal,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, October 17, 1985; “Secondary boycott ruling issued against meatpackers,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, October 18, 1985.

17. Undated and untitled memo from Eugene Cotton of Cotton, Watt, Jones & King, distributed August 1985, Ottumwa, Iowa.

18. The Unionist, October 11 and 25, 1985.

19. The Unionist, October 25, 1985.

20. Interview with Ottumwa supporter Bill Cook, January 11, 1988; interview with Bob Langemeier, January 6, 1988.

21. Interview with Carl Pontius, July 5, 1987.

22. Interview with Jim Guyette, July 5, 1987.

23. Interview with Pete Winkels, July 5, 1987.

24. Guyette interview, July 5, 1987. According to Cook (interview, January 10, 1988), Ottumwa steward Dan Varner showed the petitions of support to Wynn at this meeting.

25. Joint statement of William H. Wynn, president of United Food & Commercial Workers International Union, and James Guyette, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local P-9, dated November 5, 1985.

26. Rochester Post-Bulletin, November 6, 1985; St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, November 6, 1985.

27. Interview with Dan Allen, November 21, 1987; Guyette interview, July 5, 1987; “Hormel strikers plan escalation, will extend picket lines,” Labor Notes, November 1985.

28. The Unionist, November 22, 1985.

29. All according to Guyette’s notes of negotiation meeting, dated November 13, 1985.

30. Interview with Lewie Anderson, April 5, 1988.

31. Guyette negotiation notes, dated November 15 and 23, 1985. In “baseball-style arbitration,” the arbitrator chooses either the union’s or management’s position—not some point in between. Thus the two sides are encouraged to stake out reasonable positions from the outset.

32. Interview with Charles Nyberg, April 21, 1988.

33. Guyette negotiation notes, dated November 23, 1985.

34. The Wisconsin caravan also visited 165 Milwaukee union offices and leafleted workers at Smith Steel Works in Milwaukee, the Oscar Mayer plant and corporate headquarters in Madison, and the Trone company and Heileman brewery in LaCrosse. United Auto Workers Local 248 provided them with office space and a floor to sleep on. See The Unionist, October 25, 1985.

35. “Hormel Co. files new complaint with NLRB,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, October 11, 1985; “NLRB rules,” Rochester Post-Bulletin. The parties also disagreed over the meaning of the settlement, P-9 saying it dropped all charges, the NLRB and Hormel saying it prohibited any further First Bank actions. Since the national office of the NLRB never approved the settlement, Minnesota NLRB spokesmen maintained that Judge Devitt’s September injunction ordering an end to all bannering remained in force. They also said that the earlier settlement would now not be approved.

36. Local P-9, United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Respondent, and Geo. A. Hormel & Co., Charging Party, before the National Labor Relations Board, transcript, vol. 2, dated December 4, 1985, pp. 193–94. The “publicity proviso” became part of the National Labor Relations Act as amended in 1959. Attempts to close up “loopholes” in the statutes regarding secondary boycotts led to language making it unlawful to “threaten, coerce, or restrain any person” doing business with a secondary party. But Congress allowed unions to continue publicity activities, “truthfully advising the public . . . that a product or products are produced by an employer with whom the labor organization has a primary dispute and are distributed by another employer.” Charles J. Morris et al., The Developing Labor Law (Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Affairs, 1983), 1: 57–58; 2: 1110.

37. Decision of Administrative Law Judge Thomas D. Johnston, Local P-9 and Geo. A. Hormel & Co., United States of America, before the National Labor Relations Board, dated February 26, 1986; affidavit of Michael Grostyan, dated August 26, 1985; affidavit of James W. Cavanaugh, dated September 4, 1985; affidavit of William L. Connelly, dated September 10, 1985.

38. NLRB transcript, vol. 2: 199–209, 213–14, 243, 249–51, 258–62, 298–312, and passim. Guyette also testified to these facts later in the hearing.

39. NLRB transcript, vol. 3 (December 5, 1985): 335–75, 385–433; vol. 2: 221–34; “P-9 unfair labor practices hearing resumes,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, December 4, 1985; “Union subpoenas Hormel chairman to testify,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, December 5, 1985; “Hormel’s top executive testifies at hearing,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, December 5, 1985; “‘Corporate Campaign’ researcher: 1st Bank primary Hormel booster,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, December 6, 1985; “Hormel chief testifies on First Bank ties,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, December 6, 1985. From December 1984 to December 1985, the bank’s holding of Hormel stock declined from 16.4 percent to 12.3 percent.

40. “Meatpackers lose judge’s ruling,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, March 1, 1986.

41. Ken Gagala, “A Wobbly-bred campaign in Minnesota,” Labor Research Review 7 (Fall 1985): 86–88.

42. Nyberg interview.

43. NLRB transcript, vol. 3: 417.

44. Letter, First Bank Duluth senior vice president Lyle Bourdon to Wiley Welborn, president of Bricklayers Local #3; “Corporate campaign boosts morale, but other gains slim,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, August 4, 1985; “Corporate campaign gets MFT support,” Austin Daily Herald, April 21, 1985.

45. Rogers told me: “During the Stevens campaign, I couldn’t move as quickly as I would have liked to. I wasn’t allowed to do things as openly as we did at Hormel, such as going right after the bank. For whatever reason, at first I wasn’t allowed to go after the insurance company. So I had to start picking corporations off, like Avon, Sperry, and Seaman’s Bank. If it hadn’t been for the union lawyers, I’d have probably taken another route.” Rogers interview, July 12, 1987. The case involving secondary boycotts is Edward J. DeBartolo Corp. v. Florida Gulf Coast Building and Construction Trades Council and NLRB, 56 USLW 4328, April 20, 1988.

46. Nyberg interview.

47. Ray Rogers, “How to Confront Corporations,” Business and Society Review, Summer 1981, p. 60.

48. AFL-CIO Committee on the Evolution of Work, The Changing Situation of Workers and Their Unions (Washington, D.C.: AFL-CIO, 1985), p. 21.

49. Rogers interview, July 12, 1987.

CHAPTER V

1. The Unionist, December 20,1985.

2. Rules and Final Agenda, National Rank-And-File Against Concessions, December 6–8, 1985; “‘National Rank-and-File Against Concessions’ founded at Chicago conference,” Labor Notes, January 1986; “It’s now or never in the fight against concessions,” The Guardian, December 25,1985; Dave Foster, “What is NRFAC,” The Unifier (official publication of NRFAC), December 7,1985; “P-9 members ‘on top’ at anti-concessions conference,” The Unionist, December 20, 1985; Peter Rachleff, “The Hormel Strike: Turning point for the rank-and-file labor movement,” Socialist Review, no. 89 (September–October 1986): 76.

3. Interview with Jim Guyette, July 5, 1987.

4. Interview with Peter Rachleff, January 6, 1988.

5. Interview with Jake Cooper, January 9, 1988.

6. Rachleff interview.

7. Guyette negotiation notes, dated December 12, 1985.

8. Guyette negotiation notes, dated December 13 and 14, 1985.

9. A summary of the highlights and the entire contract offer as amended by the mediators was reprinted in The Unionist, December 27, 1985.

10. Interview with Ron Rollins, November 20, 1987.

11. Interview with Pete Winkels, January 19, 1988.

12. Ibid.

13. Guyette interview, November 19, 1987.

14. Letter, UFCW president William H. Wynn to all Presidents of National and International Unions Affiliated with the AFL-CIO, December 3, 1985.

15. Letter, Joseph T. Hansen, UFCW Region 13 director, to members of UFCW Local P-9, December 20, 1985.

16. Ibid., p. 5.

17. “200 P-9 members block Hormel road,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, December 19, 1985; “Protesting strikers block Hormel gate,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, December 20, 1985; “Hormel pickets block plant gate,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, December 20, 1985.

18. “International union, meatpackers clash,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, December 21, 1985.

19. “Workers urged to reject bid by Hormel,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, December 22, 1985; “P-9 exec board urges rejection of mediator’s proposal,” Austin Daily Herald, December 22, 1985.

20. Winkels interview, January 19, 1988.

21. “Workers urged,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune.

22. “Hormel rejects meeting with Latimer, union,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, December 31, 1985.

23. Telegram, William Wynn to executive board of UFCW Local No. 9, dated December 30, 1985.

24. Letter addressed “To Whom It May Concern,” and signed Rev. James Baker, Rev. Joe Matt, Father Charles Collins, Rev. Harold Luecke, dated January 2, 1986.

25. “P-9 members reject offer by 2-1 margin,” Austin Daily Herald, December 29, 1985; “Hormel officials meet to discuss plant reopening,” Austin Daily Herald, January 5, 1986.

26. “Hormel officials meet,” Austin Daily Herald.

27. “Christmas solidarity brought to striking P-9ers,” The Unionist, December 27, 1985.

28. “Arnold: we’ve gone as far as we’re going to,” Austin Daily Herald, December 29, 1985.

29. “Latimer meets with strike group,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, January 1, 1986.

30. Ibid.; “Sovereign offers solution to Hormel strike,” Austin Daily Herald, January 5, 1986.

31. “Austin mayor hopes ‘miracle’ can avert clash,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, January 10, 1986.

32. “Almanac,” KTCA-TV, St. Paul, January 10, 1986.

33. “Hormel, union to reopen talks,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, January 11, 1986; Guyette negotiation notes, dated January 11, 1986. In addition to Nyberg, other new faces at the meeting included the local’s recently elected financial secretary, Kathy Buck, and David Twedell, an attorney from Texas. Twedell’s father had been a UFCW vice president and he himself had once been a UFCW staffer. But in recent years he had declared himself at war with the International and was attempting to get locals to recertify with his paper union, known as Service Assistance for Better Employee Relationships (SABER).

34. News report, WCCO-TV, Minneapolis, January 12, 1986; Minneapolis Star and Tribune, January 9, 1986.

35. The year after the formation of the foundation, 1942, Jay Hormel, son of the company founder, noted: “If the Hormel Foundation stands up for the purpose of which it is intended, it will . . . vote that stock in the same interests which Father or I would have in mind; namely, the protection of the integrity of this business in behalf of the community which is dependent on it.” On several occasions thereafter, foundation spokesmen traveled to Washington seeking exemption from various tax-law changes on the grounds that the foundation’s controlling interest in the company was intended to ensure “the welfare of the community in which it was located.” They continued to make such arguments even as the company was threatening to move its operations out of Austin. In 1980 the foundation restructured itself as a public foundation with a board of directors, a majority of whom represent eight local charities. By-law changes eliminated any mention of the town of Austin. Directors drawn from the charities have consistently refrained from “injection of our personal philosophies on the Corporate operations,” in the words of Austin United Way president William Sheehy. See “The Hormel Foundation and Austin: In Whose Best Interest?” special edition of The Unionist, June 1985.

36. “Lord moves into union’s corner in Hormel fight,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, December 23, 1985.

37. “Hormel strikers rally as plant nears opening,” New York Times, January 13,1986; news report, KAAL-TV, Austin, January 12, 1986.

38. Interview with William Serrin, January 22, 1988; Hoffman estimate from “Police Response to Labor Disputes/Demonstrations,” manuscript in files released through Minnesota Government Data Practices Act request.

39. “Few of 1,500 strikers answer Hormel’s call to return to work,” New York Times, January 14,1986; news reports, WCCO-TV, Minneapolis, and KAAL-TV, Austin, January 14,1986.

40. News reports, WCCO-TV, KSTP-TV, Minneapolis and KAAL-TV, Austin, January 14, 1986.

41. News report, KAAL-TV, Austin, January 14, 1986.

42. Interview with Darrell Busker, November 21, 1987.

43. Interviews with various union and support group members, April 20, 1988. In May 1986 the local was found to have violated the NLRA with “numerous acts of blocking ingress and egress and picket line violence.” In his ruling, however, Administrative Law Judge Benjamin Schlesinger cited only two physical assaults: one involving a Hormel photographer, who got out of his car and may have provoked strikers, and another in which a crossover was slapped. Otherwise, the violence mainly involved damage to automobiles—smashed fenders and grills, punctured tires, busted headlights and taillights, bent antennae—verbal threats, and, remarkably enough, photographing strikebreakers as they crossed the line. See ALJ Benjamin Schlesinger, Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, National Labor Relations Board, Local P-9, UFCW and Geo. A. Hormel & Co., May 22, 1986, p. 9 and passim.

44. News report, KAAL-TV, Austin, January 14, 1986.

45. Ibid.; news report, KSTP-TV, Minneapolis, January 14, 1986.

46. Telegram, William Wynn to executive board of UFCW Local No. 9, dated December 30, 1985.

47. News reports, WCCO-TV, KARE-TV, KSTP-TV, Minneapolis, and KAAL-TV, Austin, January 16,1986. KSTP emphasized that P-9 members had not seen the Wynn message until its reporters showed it to them. The news broadcast showed P-9ers reading the message for the first time while picketing.

48. News reports, KAAL-TV, Austin, January 16–17,1986; “Hormel strikers discuss tactics,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, January 19, 1986.

49. News reports, WCCO-TV, KSTP-TV, Minneapolis, January 19; Rachleff, “Hormel Strike,” pp. 78–79.

50. News report, KARE-TV, Minneapolis, January 20, 1986.

51. News reports, KARE-TV, Minneapolis, January 20; report of Commissioner of Public Safety Paul J. Tschida on the Hormel strike, dated January 24,1986; letter, Donald Hoffman, Wayne Goodnature, and Tom Kough to Governor Rudy Perpich, dated January 20, 1986; telegram, Austin PD to BCA, signed by Austin Chief of Police Donald Hoffman, dated January 20, 1986; Executive Order no. 86-1, signed by Governor Perpich, dated January 23,1986. All of these documents were obtained from Tschida’s office in response to a Minnesota Government Data Practices Act request. Regarding Kough’s vacillation, Perpich told Duluth Labor World editor Dick Blin in February: “On the one hand, he’s running up here [St. Paul] telling legislators the Guard should be totally withdrawn. But down in Austin, he seems to be right there with the sheriff.” Cf. The Unionist, February 14,1986.

52. Interview with Lynn Huston, July 5, 1987.

53. Interview with Ray Rogers, February 17, 1988. Local members and retirees later erected a monument in memory of ABC newsmen Joe Spencer and Mark McDonough. And, astonishingly, McDonough’s mother sent a highly emotional letter to Nyberg, with a copy to Guyette, denouncing Hormel and blaming the company for her son’s death. “You are robbing not only your workers and the entire community around you, you have robbed my son of the pleasure of knowing the joy of being a father . . .” she wrote. “You are a union busting firm with no regard for the people you have put out of work. What are these people who have worked for you these many, many years supposed to do? . . . I intend to boycott your products.” Letter of Delores T. McDonough to Charles Nyberg, dated February 1, 1986.

54. News reports, ABC-TV, KAAL-TV, Austin, and WCCO-TV, Minneapolis, January 21, 1986; “Hormel plant shut as troops arrive and strikers thin ranks,” New York Times, January 22, 1986.

55. “Guard, police surprise strikers, switch gates”; “Worry, fear underlie an upbeat union spirit”; “Hormel plant reopens; new talks planned,” all in St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, January 23, 1986; “Hormel and union are locked in battle that carries high stakes for both sides,” Wall Street Journal, January 23, 1986; “Hormel reopens plant as guardsmen bar strikers,” New York Times, January 23, 1986; “Hormel reopens under Guard,” Newsday, January 23, 1986; news reports, KAAL-TV, Austin, January 22, 1986. The State Patrol played a limited but key role in reopening the plant. The questionable legality of its actions was underscored by a February 7 memo from Patrol Commander Richard Wilberg, who noted: “I am convinced without our presence, the strikers would have shut down traffic on the interstate. The troopers involved in the detail have done a fine job.” Police Chief Hoffman later reported that the State Patrol “provided men and cars to patrol the city” and thus allowed city police to concentrate on the labor dispute.

Regarding Kough and the police, on January 29, seven “supervisory” officers of the force wrote to the Austin city administrator protesting against Kough’s “self-serving,” politically motivated interference with police activities, such as his demand that police begin ticketing untagged vehicles entering the Hormel plant. On the 30th, Goodnature wrote to County Attorney Kraft seeking a restraining order to block Kough’s involvement in strike-related law enforcement matters, given his “direct conflict of interest.” Letter, Captain Gordon L. Bjorgo et al. to City Administrator Darrel Stacy, dated January 29, 1986; letter, Goodnature to Kraft, dated January 30, 1986.

56. News reports, WCCO-TV, Minneapolis, January 21 and 24; “Hormel plant shut,” “Hormel reopens plant,” both in New York Times; “Roving pickets fail to close Hormel plants,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, January 23, 1986.

57. “Hormel and union are locked in battle,” Wall Street Journal; Knowlton later said he was misquoted, but reporter Marj Charlier stood by her quotation.

58. “Hormel plant reopens,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch.

CHAPTER VI

1. Letter of Richard H. Long to Local P-9, dated February 11, 1986. Though Long said that he had not made more than $10,000 in any year since he had been fired for striking four and a half years earlier, he enclosed a $100 donation to P-9.

2. Interview with William Serrin, January 22, 1988.

3. “Minn, farmers extend solidarity to meatpackers’ strike,” The Militant, January 31, 1986; “Support grows for Local P-9 fight,” and “Minn, farmers’ tractorcade backs Hormel strikers,” ibid., February 7, 1986. In contrast to the Groundswell leaders, AgriNews, a publication of the Rochester Post-Bulletin, editorialized that poor farmers might consider getting a job at Hormel, since “one man’s dispute is another man’s opportunity.” Quoted in “National Guard herds scabs at Hormel,” The Militant, February 14, 1986.

4. ABC News “Nightline,” January 24,1986. Also present on the program was Secretary of Labor William Brock, who was able to sidestep a thorny question about concessions by saying, “I’m going to be pretty cautious about getting between a national union and a local on a situation like that.”

5. “Fact Book on Local P-9/Hormel Austin, Mn.,” prepared by Lewie G. Anderson, Director UFCW Packinghouse Division, dated January 21, 1986; in fact, Corporate Campaign deferred any attempt to collect fees once the strike began, but the cost of its services continued to be a hot topic.

6. The Guard was also used against the famous 1934 Minneapolis truckers’ strike and in a 1959 strike at the Wilson & Co. meatpacking plant in Albert Lea. In the latter case, DFL governor Orville Freeman declared martial law and also ordered the plant closed. Later, Freeman’s move was overturned by a federal court, and 17 days after he had closed the plant, the Guard was used to escort strikebreakers in. Freeman’s declaration of martial law and closure of the plant were often declared to be the cause of his subsequent political defeat. “Hormel plant shut as troops arrive and strikers thin ranks,” New York Times, January 22,1986; “Austin city limits, strikers on Guard,” In These Times, January 29-February 4, 1986; news report, KMSP-TV, Minneapolis, January 23,1986; “Worry, fear underlie an upbeat union spirit,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, January 23, 1986; “1959: Minn. Nat’l Guard used against meatpackers’ strike,” The Militant, January 31, 1986.

7. News reports, KAAL-TV, January 23–25, 1986.

8. Guyette negotiation notes, dated January 23, 1986.

9. Interview with Pete Winkels, November 21, 1987; interview with Lynn Huston, July 5, 1987.

10. Interview with Jim Getchell, July 6, 1987.

11. Interviews with Carl Pontius, Jim Guyette, and Pete Winkels, July 5–6, 1987.

12. Interviews with Ray Rogers, June 1987, January 1988.

13. Huston interview; interview with Jim Guyette, June 22, 1988; news reports, WCCO-TV, KMSP-TV, Minneapolis, and KAAL-TV, Austin; “Hormel strikers resume efforts to close plants,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, January 26, 1986.

14. News reports, CBS “Evening News,” and KAAL-TV, Austin, January 27, 1986.

15. Huston interview, July 5, 1987.

16. Interview with Larry McClurg, July 5, 1987.

17. Immediately after the strike began, Nyberg announced that Fremont workers might be “permanently replaced” for such action, while Niederdeppe said that he had instructed workers to cross a P-9 picket line because “there’s a contract in effect.” (Niederdeppe neglected to say that the contract did not contain a no-strike clause.) On January 15, the warnings were repeated. Niederdeppe told reporters that until roving pickets were “sanctioned,” local workers would be told to report to work “to honor that contract.” Fremont Tribune, August 15, 1985; ibid., January 15, 1986.

18. Interviews with Bob Langemeier, July 5,1987, and January 6, 1988.

19. Winkels interview, November 21, 1987. •

20. News reports, KSTP-TV, January 28 and 29,1986; “Troops at Hormel to be withdrawn,” New York Times, January 29, 1986.

21. “Solidarity march draws big crowd,” “Church haven for strikers,” “Local 431 forms food committee,” Ottumwa Courier, January 30, 1986; “2,000 demonstrate against Hormel firings in Iowa,” The Militant, February 14, 1986; “Hormel may rehire some workers,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, January 29, 1986. Again Hormel announced that it had set a record with yearly profits: $38.6 million in fiscal 1985, on revenue of $1.5 billion, compared with $29.5 million on revenue of $1.45 billion in the previous year, according to the New York Times, January 29, 1986.

22. Quoted in “Union top betrays embattled local,” The Militant, February 7, 1986.

23. According to “UFCW sends staff to aid in Hormel chain grievances,” AFL-CIO News, February 1, 1986.

24. Trusteeship Hearing of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local P-9 Union, conducted by Hearing Officer Ray B. Wooster, in six volumes, April 14–16, 1986. The trusteeship hearings are discussed at greater length in Chapter IX. Information about the “special organizing team” is limited. It was obtained during the trusteeship hearings by P-9 officers in spite of Hearing Officer Wooster’s attempt to limit the scope of the inquiry to the issue of whether or not P-9 had called off its strike and boycott as ordered by the UFCW.

25. “Returning P-9 workers report better treatment,” Austin Daily Herald, January 24, 1986.

26. “Fact-finder ends talks, to make report,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, January 25, 1986. Suspicions about Zack’s motives were also voiced by William Serrin, who asked me: “Was Al Zack trying to make sure that the fact-finding didn’t work?”

27. News report, KSTP-TV, Minneapolis, February 1, 1986.

28. News report, WCCO-TV, January 30, 1986; “Last troops are withdrawn from Hormel plant,” New York Times, January 30, 1986; letter, Tom Kough to Perpich, dated January 28, 1986; and letter, Hoffman, Goodnature, and Kough to Perpich, dated January 30, 1986, both from Department of Public Safety records. The television report also noted that most of the governor’s mail opposed his sending the Guard, and that some DFL legislators had proposed a “symbolic show of support for the strikers when the legislature reconvenes next week.”

29. “Hormel strikers close plant again,” New York Times, February 1, 1986; news report, WCCO-TV, January 31, 1986.

30. News report, KAAL-TV, Austin, January 31,1986; “P-9 votes not to consider proposal,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, February 2,1986; undated chronology of Hormel strike by Paul Tschida, from Department of Public Safety files.

31. “Last troops are withdrawn,” New York Times.

32. Employee lists released to the North American Meat Packers Union by the Hormel company, undated.

33. Interview with Margaret Winter, June 6, 1988.

34. “Austin city limits, strikers on Guard,” In These Times, January 29-February 4, 1986.

35. News report, WCCO-TV, Minneapolis, February 7, 1986.

36. Memo of Denise Bahl to Hoffman, dated February 1, 1986; message to Supt. J. Erskine, dated February 2,1986; memo of Austin Police Officer “Sorlie” to all officers, dated February 2,1986; memo of M. Haider to Hoffman, dated February 1, 1986; memo of K. Hines to “all concerned,” dated February 17, 1986. All memos were obtained through Minnesota Department of Public Safety. In the “telephone tap” transcript, dated April 25,1986, Rogers gives directions to the P-9 hall and advises the Minneapolis supporters on how much money to bring for bail. Transcript obtained through a Minnesota Government Data Practices Act request.

37. National Guard log, entitled “INTSUM,” was obtained through a Minnesota Government Data Practices Act request from files of the Minnesota Army National Guard, Office of the Adjutant General. References are to entries dated January 21 through February 18. “CPP Incident Reports” also in the Guard’s files.

38. “Austin city limits, strikers on Guard,” In These Times, January 29-February 4, 1986.

39. “P-9 votes,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune; “National Guard returns to Hormel plant in Minnesota,” New York Times, February 4, 1986; “Judge stays jail terms in meat packers’ strike,” New York Times, February 5,1986; news reports, KAAL-TV, Austin, and KSTP-TV, Minneapolis, February 3,1986. Goodnature reported that he had received a telephone warning from an anonymous crossover that “he and his friends numbering approximately 100 were going to mass up at a predetermined location and proceed to work. . . . there would be a lot of baseball bats and a lot of guns, and if confronted they were going to take care of the matter.” Memo, Goodnature to Col. Kiefer and Detective Hines, dated February 5,1986.

40. Goodnature summarized his discussion with Rogers in a memo to County Attorney Fred Kraft, noting “the stated objective of this procedure would be to shut down the Hormel Corporation and to overload our court system so that it could not handle the matter.” Kraft responded that any arrangement with Rogers would represent a conspiracy to allow violation of the law. Letter, Wayne P. Good-nature and Donald Hoffman to Kraft, dated February 3, 1986; letter, Kraft to Goodnature and Hoffman, dated February 3, 1986.

41. Interview with Rod Huinker, April 19, 1988.

42. News report, KSTP-TV, Minneapolis, February 6, 1986; “Labor leader and two dozen strikers arrested at Hormel plant,” New York Times, February 7, 1986; Minnesota statute 609.405, criminal code of 1963.

43. Melvyn Dubofsky, We Shall Be All: A History of the IWW (New York: Quadrangle Books, 1969), pp. 381–82.

44. Much of the historical material presented here is from Emily Bass, Linda A. Backiel, and Beth Margolis, Brief of Defendant Raymond Rogers in Support of Motion to Dismiss on Constitutional Grounds, State of Minnesota v. Raymond Rogers Jr., dated March 3, 1986, pp. 1–22. See also Philip S. Foner, History of the Labor Movement in the United States: The Industrial Workers of the World, 1905–1917 (New York: International Publishers, 1965), pp. 413–14; Larry Engelmann, “‘We Were the Poor People’—The Hormel Strike of 1933,” Labor History, 15 (Fall 1974): 490. According to both Foner and fellow historian William Preston, an “anti-sabotage” clause inserted into the constitution of the Socialist Party in 1912—which, in Preston’s words, created an “index of permissible belief and action within the framework of discontent”—was the forerunner of “criminal syndicalism” laws. Cited in Foner, History of the Labor Movement, p. 414.

45. Interview with Ray Rogers, March 13, 1988; “Union aide says strike at Hormel could continue into the summer,” New York Times, February 10, 1986.

46. News report, KAAL-TV, Austin, February 7, 1986; Rogers interview, March 13, 1988.

47. News reports, KSTP-TV, Minneapolis, January 10, 1986; KIMT-TV, Mason City, Iowa, January 11, 1986.

48. Huinker interview.

49. Ibid.

50. “Striking people in a sticky situation,” In These Times, February 12–18, 1986.

51. Guyette negotiation notes, dated February 11, 1986; proposal of P-9 to Geo. A. Hormel & Co., dated February 11, 1986.

52. News report, KARE-TV, Minneapolis, January 11, 1986.

53. Interview with Lewie Anderson, April 5, 1988.

54. “Today marks pivotal point in conflict,” USA Today cover story, February 11, 1986; Hormel hiring list; “A strike that failed,” New York Times, February 14, 1986.

55. “Hormel strikers helped by NY labor leaders,” Newsday, February 6, 1986.

56. CBS News “Sunday Morning,” February 9, 1986; “Ottumwa: 3,000 march for Hormel workers,” The Militant, February 21, 1986; “Unionists, farmers back fight against Hormel,” The Militant, February 28, 1986; “Unionists rally in Minnesota to support Hormel meat packers’ strike, Labor Notes, March 1986. In addition to the UAW activity, the Hormel boycott also drew the support of Iowa State, County and Municipal Employees, who were successful in getting Hormel products removed from all vending machines in office building in the state capital. “Farm unity group backs Ottumwa Hormel workers,” Des Moines Register, February 5, 1986.

57. “Rogers must agree to limit demonstrations or go to jail,” Austin Daily Herald, February 14,1986; “Rogers faces jail unless he OKs limits on protest,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, February 15, 1986; “Judge curtails Hormel protests,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, February 15, 1986.

58. “Unionists rally,” Labor Notes; “Unionists, farmers back fight against Hormel,” The Militant; interview with Jan Pierce, March 17, 1988.

59. At the time, Rogers said that half of the 900-person FDL work force honored the picket, while Hormel claimed that only 200 of 900 workers stayed out. “Guard exit from Austin weighed,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, February 18, 1986.

60. News reports, KSTP-TV, Minneapolis, February 10, 1986; KAAL-TV, Austin, February 20–21, 1986; “Austin students leave school in support of union,” Minneapolis Start and Tribune, February 22, 1986.

CHAPTER VII

1. Quoted in “Hormel dispute is taken to AFL-CIO; Firm posts higher fiscal 1st-period net,” Wall Street Journal, February 20,1986.

2. In 1938 the Supreme Court ruled that an employer may operate his plant during an economic strike and, at its conclusion, need not discharge those who worked during the strike in order to make room for returning strikers (NLRB v. Mackay Radio and Telegraph Co., 304 US 333, 2 LRRM 610). In recent years, the courts have strengthened even further the rights of “permanent replacements” to the detriment of strikers. In 1983 the Supreme Court upheld the right of permanent replacements to pursue breach of contract and misrepresentation suits against any employer who discharges them to make room for returning strikers [Belknap Inc. v. Hale et al., 463 U.S. 491, 113 LRRM 3057). In 1989 the high court further limited economic strikers’ reinstatement rights under the Railway Labor Act by ruling that, at the conclusion of a strike, employers are not required to lay off crossovers in order to rehire “full-term” strikers who have more seniority (Trans World Airlines Inc. v. Independent Federation of Flight Attendants, 57 USLW 4283).

3. Interview with Darrell Busker, November 21, 1987.

4. “CBS Morning News,” February 19, 1986.

5. “UFCW Local P-9 strikes Hormel: The International union’s perspective,” UFCW Leadership Update, February 1986.

6. “Reporter’s notebook: Images of organized labor,” New York Times, February 21, 1986.

7. Quoted in William Serrin, “Labor as usual,” Village Voice, February 23, 1988.

8. Interview with William Serrin, January 22, 1988.

9. Lane Kirkland, executive council news conference, “draft” transcript, February 19, 1986, p. 10.

10. “AFL-CIO blasts P-9 ‘all or nothing’ stand,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, February 21,1986; letter, William Winpisinger, dated March 7, 1986.

11. “Perpich orders Guard to leave Hormel plant,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, February 19, 1986. The total cost of the Guard presence in Austin was $1.4 million, according to “Austin students leave school in support of union,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, February 22, 1986.

12. “Governor urges P-9 strikers to settle,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, February 1, 1986; “P-9 votes not to consider proposals,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, February 2, 1986; “Hormel resumes hog slaughter,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, February 11, 1986; “Perpich defends troop callup to AFL-CIO,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, February 25,1986; interview with Charles Nyberg, April 21, 1988; interview with John Weis, April 19, 1988.

13. Interview with Rod Huinker, April 19, 1988.

14. Interview with Lynn Huston, July 5, 1987.

15. Interview with Merrell Evans, July 5, 1987.

16. “Hormel shows off Austin plant,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, February 19, 1986; “Hormel strikers confronting likelihood that jobs are lost,” ibid., February 23, 1986.

17. “Civil disobedience urged if Hormel hires substitutes,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, January 19, 1986; interviews with Ray Rogers, January 9, 1987, March 12, 1988.

18. Interview with Mike Bambrick, April 20, 1988.

19. Remarks of Barbara Collette, P-9 Jailbird Celebration, March 16, 1988; “Police arrest 100 at Hormel’s main gate,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, March 11, 1986; “Strike supporters arraigned, released,” ibid., March 12, 1986; “Minnesota: 115 arrested in protest against Hormel,” The Militant, March 21, 1986. Union records show that the total number arrested was 122, rather than 115.

20. Collette remarks; interview with Carmine Rogers, March 18, 1988.

21. Account of Cynthia Bellrichard, dated March 16, 1986.

22. Carmine Rogers interview.

23. Account of Sandy Titus, “My night in Cell Block H,” undated. Carmine Rogers has over a dozen such narratives in her possession.

24. “Strike supporters arraigned,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, account of Roger D. Diggins, undated.

25. Carmine Rogers interview; “Strike supporters arraigned,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune.

26. News report, KSTP-TV, March 11, 1986; “‘P-9’ rank and file vote on resolution to soften demands,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, March 12, 1986.

27. Interview with Margaret Winter, June 6, 1988.

28. “International may halt P-9 support,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, February 28, 1986.

29. News report, WCCO-TV, Minneapolis, March 14, 1986.

30. “Parent union orders local to end Hormel strike,” New York Times, March 15, 1986.

31. News reports, WCCO-TV, KARE-TV, Minneapolis, March 14, 1986; “Parent union orders local,” New York Times; “UFCW orders end to Austin strike,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, March 15, 1986. According to the Times, the UFCW said that it had paid over $2 million in strike benefits to the local at the time it suspended the strike.

32. “UFCW orders end,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune.

33. “Some strikers relieved, others remain bitter,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, March 15, 1986.

34. “Hormel strike takes on aura of a crusade,” Newsday, March 20, 1986; “Union splits on ending Hormel strike,” ibid., March 15, 1986; news report, WCCO-TV, Minneapolis.

35. Weis interview; “Support grows in Seattle,” The Militant, March 14, 1986; “That old time unionism,” San Francisco Chronicle, March 5, 1986.

36. Interview with Buck Heegard, April 18, 1988.

37. “Hormel strikers win support of unions around country” and “Detroit: 500 rally for Hormel strikers,” The Militant, March 14, 1986; “1,000 trade unionists rally in Detroit for Hormel workers,” Daily World, March 7, 1986; “St. Louis: Hormel workers win support” and “Oakland rally backs Minn, strikers,” The Militant, March 21, 1986; “100 rally for strikers in San Jose,” ibid., April 4, 1986; “Strikers: Solidarity is vital,” El Paso, New Mexico Times, April 7, 1986; “Hormel strikers win support from Chicago area labor unions,” The Militant, April 11,1986; “National solidarity with Hormel strikers,” ibid., May 9, 1986; “Atlanta: Hormel strikers win support” and “Birmingham unions back Hormel fight,” ibid., May 2, 1986; “Strikers make appeal to Utah miners and N.C. unionists,” ibid., June 13, 1986; “Hormel meatpackers tour Texas, win support for union fight,” ibid., June 27, 1986; “Minnesota march backs Hormel meatpackers,” ibid., July 11, 1986.

38. Heegard interview.

39. “Socialist IAM members discuss Hormel strike support,” The Militant, April 4, 1986.

40. “The union is at stake at Hormel,” Daily World, February 6, 1986; “A deeper look—Calls for unity to defeat Hormel union busting,” Daily World, February 25, 1986.

41. “I’m for the strikers,” Public Sector, April 7, 1986.

42. Interview with Brian Lang, April 7, 1988.

43. Letter of Acting Special Agent in Charge Dan L. Anderson, July 5, 1988.

44. “P-9 members vote to defy international union,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, March 17, 1986; “Hormel strikers vote to continue,” New York Times, March 17,1986; “Workers vote to continue strike,” The Militant, March 28, 1986.

45. “Hormel protesters arrested after blockade,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, March 21, 1986; “Strikers shut down plant for five hours,” The Militant, March 28, 1986.

46. Interview with Carl Pontius, April 19, 1988.

47. “Hormel protesters arrested,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune; Mike Bambrick interview.

48. Weis interview; “P-9, UFCW truce talks collapse,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, March 22, 1986.

49. “About 100 demonstrators jeer as employees arrive at Hormel’s headquarters,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, March 27, 1986.

CHAPTER VIII

1. “About 100 demonstrators jeer as employees arrive at Hormel’s headquarters,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, March 27, 1986; interview with Mike Bambrick, April 20, 1988.

2. “P-9 official among 14 protesters arrested outside Hormel gates,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, April 3, 1986; “Cops, scabs attack protest at Hormel plant,” The Militant, April 11, 1986; Mike Bambrick interview; Austin police records of arrests, in possession of P-9er Larry Gullickson.

3. Guyette negotiation notes, dated April 1, 1986; “Hormel negotiations again break down; no new talks scheduled,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, April 2, 1986.

4. “Prosecutor says Rogers has violated terms of bail,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, April 1, 1986.

5. News report, KAAL-TV, Austin, April 5, 1986; “Hundreds turn out to greet food caravan,” The Bulletin, April 8, 1986; “Supporters of Hormel strikers gather food for fourth caravan,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, April 4, 1986.

6. Letter, Hoffman and Goodnature to Perpich, April 7,1986; letter, Tschida to Hoffman and Goodnature, April 7, 1986; Mower County police memorandum to “all agencies,” signed by Good-nature and Hoffman, dated April 7, 1986.

7. News report, KAAL-TV, Austin, April 9, 1986; “Hormel protest draws law enforcement units,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, April 10, 1986; “350 demonstrate outside Hormel plant’s gates,” ibid., April 11, 1986.

8. News reports, KAAL-TV, Austin, and KSTP-TV, Minneapolis, April 11, 1986; videotape of the day’s events taken by union member Mert DeBoer.

9. “Outburst among worst in state labor history,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, April 12, 1986; “Violence in Austin confirms worst fears,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, April 12, 1986; Austin police records.

10. “Tear gas halts Hormel protests,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, April 12, 1986.

11. DeBoer videotape, taken April 11; “4,000 protesters march peacefully in Austin,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, April 13, 1986; “Thousands back striking meatpackers,” The Militant, April 25, 1986.

12. Interview with Buck Heegard, April 18, 1988.

13. Interview with Jan Pierce, March 17, 1988.

14. Heegard interview; interview with Brian Lang, April 7, 1988.

15. Pierce interview; interview with Charles Nyberg, April 21, 1988.

16. News reports, WCCO-TV, Minneapolis, April 14, 1986; Nyberg interview; DeBoer videotape, taken on April 13, 1986; “Jackson brings hope to Austin strikers,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, April 14, 1986; Pierce interview; for contrast, see “On the line with Jesse,” The Guardian, February 17, 1988, and “On the road with Jackson in Iowa,” In These Times, January 20–26, 1988.

17. “Jackson brings hope,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch.

18. News report, KMSP-TV, Minneapolis, April 14,1986; “Hearing here on control of P-9 sparks union friction,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, April 15, 1986; Austin police records.

19. 29 USC 462, 464; UFCW International Constitution, Article 9, section (H)1, section (H)2(c), Article 23, and passim.

20. Trusteeship hearing of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local P-9 Union, conducted by Hearing Officer Ray B. Wooster, in 6 volumes, April 14–16, 1986; vol. 2 (April 14): 6–7, 38–39, 122; vol. 3 (April 15): 253–57.

21. “350 demonstrate outside Hormel plant’s gates,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune.

22. Trusteeship hearing, vol. 1 (April 14): 9–22.

23. Ibid., vol. 2: 16–177.

24. Ibid., vol. 3: 211–96.

25. Ibid., vol. 4 (April 15): 304–24, 348–414; vol. 5 (April 16): 430–47, 491–514; vol. 6 (April 16): 521–57.

26. Ibid., vol. 4: 418–24.

27. Ibid., vol. 6: 605–65.

28. “P-9 hearing ends amid accusations, threat of suit,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, April 17, 1988.

29. Stanley Aronowitz, “Cold cuts,” Village Voice, April 22, 1986.

30. Nicolaus Mills, “Why Local P-9 is going it alone,” The Nation, April 26, 1986.

31. Bill Montross, “Dissidence isn’t always progressive,” The Guardian, February 19, 1986; Kim Moody, “Strike highlights two conceptions of unionism,” Labor Notes, April 1986.

32. “The Hormel strike: a union divided,” New York Times, April 21, 1986.

33. Nicolaus Mills, “P-9 fights the odds,” Dissent, Summer 1986.

34. Bill Dennison, “Hormel: Unity is the only winning strategy,” Political Affairs, April 1986.

35. Lance Compa, “A second look at the Hormel strike,” manuscript.

36. The union’s November 1986 National Packinghouse Strategy and Policy Conference featured anti-P-9 presentations by Local 7R staffer Mark Belkin, Anderson, and Dale Francis, a former P-9 striker who switched sides. Delegates passed a resolution condemning the “anti-union activity of the former P-9 officers, Ray Rogers, and David Twedell.” Anderson also described the “hard lessons of Hormel” for the readers of Meat & Poultry, February 1987.

CHAPTER IX

1. “Austin struggle tests workers’ endurance,” Catholic Bulletin, March 23, 1986.

2. Edward J. Devitt, Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, Ronald M. Sharp v. Local P-9, UFCW, dated April 23, 1986; “Local P-9 assails labor panel action,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, April 24, 1986; “150 federal marshals set if needed at Hormel site,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, May 3, 1986.

3. Interview with Margaret Winter, June 6, 1988.

4. Interview with Emily Bass, June 19, 1988; “Local at Hormel sues parent union,” New York Times, May 7,1986; “UFCW tells P-9 it will take over,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, May 9,1986; hearing officer’s report in the matter of Local P-9, UFCW, Austin, Minnesota, undated; “UFCW says it’s in charge of P-9, but questions linger,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, May 10, 1986; “Austin strikers lose two battles over P-9 control,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, May 10, 1986; news reports, KAAL-TV, Austin, and WCCO-TV, Minneapolis, May 7–10, 1986.

5. News reports, WCCO-TV, Minneapolis, May 12–20, 1986; “Ruling puts P-9 fight for control on hold,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, May 20, 1986; transcript of proceedings before Judge Gerhard Gesell, U.S. District Court, May 15, 1986.

6. Interview with Ben Lamberton, July 19, 1988.

7. These arguments were made before Devitt and repeated in Bass, Brief for Appellants, and Harry Huge, Gary K. Harris, and James E. Pfander, Brief for Appellees, Joseph T. Hansen et al. v. James V. Guyette et al. I Local P-9, UFCW, et al. v. William H. Wynn et al., appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

8. Memorandum and order, findings of fact, conclusions of law, and order, Joseph T. Hansen et al. v. James v. Guyette et al. / Local P-9 v. William H. Wynn et al., dated June 2, 1986.

9. “UFCW rents an office in Austin,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, May 16, 1986; “P-9 officials remove pickets at Hormel,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, June 5,1986; “P-9 members seek a new union,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, June 7, 1986.

10. “Iowa rally backs fired Hormel workers,” The Militant, May 23, 1986; “Hormel to appeal jobless pay ruling,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, May 4, 1986; SPAM-O-RAMA press release, dated May 13, 1986; “UFCW rents an office,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune; “Hormel net fell 26% in its second period; strike at plant cited,” Wall Street Journal, May 20,1986; “Twins caught in the middle of P-9, Hormel fight,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, May 25, 1986.

11. “Meatpackers union is facing wage issue,” Wall Street Journal, May 19, 1986; “Hormel workers win round against union top attacks,” The Militant, May 30, 1986; “Wynn award picketed,” The Bulletin, May 30, 1986; “Protest at award for Wynn,” Labor Page, May 1986; interview with Brian Lang, April 7, 1988.

12. Interview with Ray Rogers, March 12, 1988; “800 rally for P-9,” Austin Daily Herald, June 29, 1986; “Black unionists back Hormel strikers,” The Militant, June 6, 1988; “New union organizing drive at Austin Hormel plant,” The Militant, July 18, 1986; “Minnesota meatpackers win new support,” The Militant, August 8, 1986; “Hormel workers continue the struggle,” The Militant, August 20, 1986.

13. Interview with Denny Mealy, July 6,1987; “Mural commemorates P-9 fight with Hormel,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, May 28, 1986; “Austin mural done in same spirit of lost WPA projects,” Union Advocate, June 30, 1986; “Hormel strikers dedicate mural to Nelson Mandela,” The Militant, June 20, 1986.

14. “Statement of Jim Guyette,” reprinted in The Militant, June 20, 1986.

15. News reports, KAAL-TV, Austin, and KARE-TV, WCCO-TV, Minneapolis, June 28, 1986; “1,000 march in support of meat-packers,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, June 29,1986; “Austin struggle tests workers’ endurance,” Catholic Bulletin; “Labor-backing priest urges P-9ers to persist,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, June 28, 1986; unsigned “Notes to the Chief [Hoffman],” dated June 12, 1986, and memo of Sergeant Simonson to Captain Steininger, dated June 24, 1986, both from Austin police files.

16. News reports, KAAL-TV, Austin, and WCCO-TV, Minneapolis, June 30, 1986.

17. “Court splits union site, strike funds,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, July 3, 1986.

18. News report, KAAL-TV, Austin, July 3, 1986; “Division among ex-P-9ers continues,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, August 16, 1986; United Support Group, Support Report, August 15, 1986.

19. “Picnic marks Austin strike anniversary,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, August 18, 1986.

20. “Anniversary brings talk of settlement by Sept. 1,” St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dispatch, August 17, 1986; “Negotiators hopeful about effort to halt long Hormel strike,” New York Times, August 26, 1986.

21. “Hormel strike settlement eases tension in many Austin faces,” “Hormel ordered to rehire 507 Iowa employees,” and “New Hormel contract has no provision for recalling strikers,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, August 29, 1986; “Summary of Hormel contract proposal, UFCW Local P9, Austin, Minnesota,” dated September 5, 1986.

22. Interview with Lewie Anderson, April 5, 1988.

23. “Hormel strike to end,” Newsday, September 13,1986; interview with Lynn Huston, July 17, 1988.

24. “Hormel contract draws mixed reviews from P-9,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, September 5, 1986; letter of Joe Hansen, sent with mail ballots, dated September 5, 1986; “Packers ratify Hormel contract,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, September 13, 1986; “P-9 uncovers labor’s split personality,” The Guardian, October 1, 1986.

25. “P-9 lawyer calls prosecution of 17 strikers unconstitutional,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, July 11, 1986.

26. Interview with Jeannie Bambrick, April 20, 1988.

27. Memorandum and order of Judge William A. Johnson, Third Judicial District of the State of Minnesota, dated November 26, 1986.

28. The sandblasting was temporarily halted, first by a demonstration by P-9ers, then by a court order obtained by NAMPU and the artists. “Meatpackers seek order to halt mural ‘blasting,’” Austin Daily Herald, October 9, 1986; “Judge halts sandblasting of meat-packers’ mural,” The Militant, November 28, 1986.

29. Letter of Joseph Hansen, dated September 25, 1986; strike settlement agreement, dated November—1986. The key case defining the rights of strikers to reinstatement is Laidlaw Corp., 171 NLRB 1366, 68 LRRM 1252 (1968). In response to a suit by 13 former P-9ers, the company and UFCW announced in February 1988 that recall rights would be extended indefinitely.

30. Interview with Jim Getchell, April 19, 1988.

31. Interview with Frank Collette, April 20, 1988.

32. Police report of Officer M. Holten regarding victim Tom Clemens, dated May 8, 1987; police report of Officers Royce and Erickson regarding victim John Weis, dated July 5, 1987; police report of Officer D. Simonson regarding victim Richard Shatek, dated July 23, 1988; memo of Hoffman to news media, dated January 6, 1987, all obtained through the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act.

33. Interview with Jim Getchell, July 6, 1987.

34. Interview with Darrell Busker, November 21, 1987.

35. “School official says firing is linked to Hormel strike,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, April 2, 1986; “Price paid to settle Austin’s Hormel strike carries a ration of anger,” ibid., January 13, 1987; “Hormel intends to close plant in Ottumwa, Iowa,” Wall Street Journal, February 24,1987; “Over 1,200 apply for Excel jobs,” Ottumwa Courier, September 3, 1987; “Hormel: Ottumwans must choose between buyoff and bumping,” Ottumwa Courier, February 4, 1988.

36. “Former steward loses appeal against Local 431,” Ottumwa Courier, August 27, 1987; interview with Charles Nyberg, April 21, 1988; “Hormel rehires some fired workers,” The Bulletin, August 18, 1987.

37. “P-9 worker upset over dismissal of charges,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, September 23, 1987; “Hormel plans civil suit against Robert Johnson,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, October 14, 1987; dismissal of complaint, State of Minnesota v. Robert Allan Johnson, dated September 21, 1987.

38. Police report of Officer Wesely regarding written and telephoned death threats, dated August 4,1985; police report of Officer Earl regarding letter sent to Raymond Arens that threatened both Guyette’s and Winkels’ children, dated March 21, 1986.

39. “Trustee: money to aid P-9 strikers is unaccounted for,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, August 28, 1986; “UFCW sues former P-9 officers for alleged pension fund misuse,” BNA Labor Relations Week, July 8, 1987; UFCW LM-2 form for the year ending April 30, 1986; interviews with Jim Guyette, November 19, 1987, and June 10, 1988. An internal Austin police memo reports that “a private concern” has “an informant who is not in town but is travelling and in constant contact with Guyette, Shatek, etc.” This informant is probably the “Cudahy striker.” Memo of Captain Bjorgo to Chief Hoffman, dated June 29, 1987 obtained through the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act.

40. Memos of Captain Bjorgo to Chief Hoffman, dated June 29, July 1, and July 2, 1987; “report from [name blacked out] on his activities the weekend of the 4th of July,” undated; “Police Response to Labor Disputes/Demonstrations,” outline and notes; police report of officers Bartlett, Everhart, Bednar, Carpenter, and Stiehm, dated February 2, 1986, with attached INCAR and Progressive Labor Party leaflets and photo; letter of Hoffman to Commander Robert Minto, VFW Post 1216, dated April 18,1986; memo “To Investigating Agencies” from Hoffman, regarding P-9 funds, undated; letter from U.S. Senator Rudy Boschwitz to Hoffman re “possible illegal use and disbursement of funds by the Local P-9 union,” dated April 2, 1986; all obtained through Minnesota Government Data Practices Act request.

41. Hoffman, “Police Response to Labor Disputes/Demonstrations”; unsigned “Notes to the Chief,” dated June 10,1986; unsigned and undated report on Peter Rachleff in Hoffman’s files. Obtained through Minnesota Government Data Practices Act request.

42. Dale Francis, “A national strike of the meatpacking industry would show these companies they can’t push us around anymore,” The Bulletin, January 17,1986; Dale Francis, letter on NAMPU, The Militant, August 8, 1986; Federal Bureau of Investigation report of Special Agent Donald D. Carlson, dated February 13, 1987, in Austin police files, obtained through Minnesota Government Data Practices Act request.

43. Interview with Vicky Guyette, July 5, 1987.

44. Nyberg interview.

45. Interview with Jan Pierce, March 17, 1988.

46. Nyberg interview; “And this little pig processor does nicely,” Forbes, February 23, 1987. During 1987 the company earned $45.9 million, or a 17.6 percent improvement over the previous year, acquired Jenny-0 Foods Inc., and extended its marketing agreement with FDL, according to “Knowlton calls 1987 best year in history of Geo. A. Hormel Co.,” Austin Daily Herald, January 20, 1988. A record $80 million was set aside for advertising in 1988, according to “Hormel sees its future in a microwave oven,” Business Week, February 22, 1988.

47. Letter, Richard Knowlton to Hormel Vending Customers, dated October 1, 1986, with sample advertisement attached.

48. “Minnesota AFL-CIO urges Hormel to rehire former strikers,” Support Report, October 16,1987; “DFL reaffirms commitment to boycott Hormel products,” ibid., April 4, 1988; “The Hormel experience,” BNA Labor Relations Week, July 20, 1988.

49. Interview with Rich Waller, March 1987.

CHAPTER X

1. Quoted in The Guardian, labor supplement, Fall 1986.

2. Interview with Darrell Busker, November 21, 1987; interview with Vicky Guyette, November 21, 1987; interview with Rod Huinker, November 19, 1987; interview with John Weis, November 19, 1987.

3. Interview with Pete Winkels, November 20,1987; Huinker interview, November 19, 1987.

4. Interview with Ray Rogers, July 12, 1987.

5. “Unions have no business on the picket line today,” Washington Post National Weekly Edition, March 3, 1986; “Hormel settlement leaves unionists bitterly divided,” In These Times, September 24–30, 1986. Some in-plant tactics are described in the AFL-CIO Industrial Union Department’s 1986 pamphlet, The Inside Game: Winning with Workplace Strategies.

6. Remarks of Jerry Tucker, Labor Solidarity Network of Greater New York weekend conference, April 4, 1987.

7. Interview with William Serrin, January 22, 1988.

8. Guyette, address at Labor Notes’ “New Directions” conference, November 15, 1986.

9. Interview with Lynn Huston, July 5, 1987.

10. Interview with Charles Nyberg, April 21, 1988. In 1984 Hormel had bought Dold Foods of Wichita, thus providing itself with a new and modern plant that allowed significant expansion of smoked meats production; the July 1985 marketing agreement with FDL Foods gave Hormel Dubuque and Rochelle facilities that Nyberg said “were already slaughtering more hogs than we were.” See “Hormel signs marketing pact that may insulate it from strike,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, July 27, 1985.

11. Interview with Jan Pierce, March 17, 1988.

12. Letters, Dorothy Long Burgess, dated January 31, 1986; James Wiley, dated January 22, 1986; Bob Rossi, dated January 28, 1986; Franklyn Smith, dated February 22, 1986; Lavonne Lela, dated February 16, 1986.

13. Charles R. Perry, Union Corporate Campaigns (Philadelphia: Wharton School, 1987), pp. 135–44 and passim.

14. “Meatpackers battle over pay and prices,” Milwaukee Journal, October 4, 1987; “South Dakota meatpackers honor picket line of Iowa Morrell workers,” Labor Notes, June 1987; “The most dangerous job in America,” ABC News “20-20,” November 6, 1987; “Misery on the meatpacking line,” New York Times, June 14, 1987; “Morrell union members confused over action,” Austin Daily Herald, November 5, 1987; “UFCW ends six-month sympathy strike at Morrell plant in South Dakota,” Labor Notes, December 1987; “Striking Morrell workers offer to return to work,” Ottumwa Courier, February 8, 1988; “Union will appeal verdict siding with John Morrell,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, March 11, 1988; “Oscar Mayer Meatpackers in Texas reject ‘compressed work week,’” Labor Notes, April 1988; “Meatpacker awarded $24.6 million over strikes,” New York Times, November 13, 1988; interview with Linda King of Sioux Falls UFCW Local 304A, April 6, 1989. It should be noted that the Sioux Falls members did not hold Anderson responsible for this debacle, continuing to view him as a militant. “Lewie’s philosophy matches ours perfectly,” local president James Lyons told the New York Times in the wake of Anderson’s January 1989 firing by Wynn. Quoted in “A union split over givebacks,” New York Times, January 29, 1989.

15. “FDL Foods/UFCW pacts,” BNA Labor Relations Reporter, November 17, 1986.

16. “Milwaukee labor marches for Cudahy strikers,” Labor Notes, May 1987; “Patrick Cudahy’s union-bashing a year after the strike,” Labor World, January 21,1988.

17. “Hormel plans to halt Austin hog slaughtering,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, November 7, 1987. The UFCW ended the Austin trusteeship on July 16, 1987, one day after the election of new officers.

18. “Dallas firm inks letter of intent to [sic] slaughtering operation here,” Austin Daily Herald, March 4, 1988; “Nearly 400 apply for jobs on hog-kill line,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, May 3, 1988; “Slaughter plant could be sold,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, June 14, 1988.

19. “Hormel to lay off 324 in Nebraska in ’89, stop hog-slaughtering,” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, September 1, 1988; “Agreement near to reopen Hormel hog-killing plant,” ibid., December 9, 1988; “Proposed Quality Pork slaughter rates worry UFCW leader at Farmstead plant,” BNA Labor Relations Week, February 1, 1989.

20. “A meatpacker cartel up ahead?” New York Times, May 29, 1988.

21. Jonathan Kwitney, Vicious Circles: The Mafia in the Marketplace (New York: W. W. Norton, 1979), pp. 251–313 and passim. In time, several meat buyers and mobsters, along with Stern, Nicholas Abondolo, and Moe Fliss, all of the union, were indicted. The union men bargained away a charge of conspiracy to travel interstate to commit racketeering, pleaded guilty to tax evasion, and were sentenced to prison.

22. “Signs of violence arise in meat plant’s lockout,” New York Times, January 18, 1987; John Herling’s Labor Letter, October 11, 1986; “Union aims to take on IBP with nationwide campaign,” Des Moines Sunday Register, January 25, 1987; “Union: Iowa Beef falsifies OSHA reports,” Rochester Post-Bulletin, January 23, 1987; “Unions cite hazards in packing houses,” Milwaukee Journal, October 5, 1987; “UFCW presses for crackdown on crippling meat plant injuries,” AFL-CIO News, May 14, 1988; “IBP contract settled with concessions by both company, meatpackers union,” Wall Street Journal, July 28, 1987; “IBP bristles after attack by Babbitt,” Ottumwa Courier, January 13, 1988; “Questions raised over meat-packer’s unionization,” Chicago Tribune, June 26, 1988; “New IBP plant may force out other meatpackers,” Ottumwa Courier, March 30, 1988; “IBP to pay $975,000 to settle charges on safety, sources say,” Wall Street Journal, November 23, 1988.

23. Interview with Lewie Anderson, April 5, 1988; the “total victory or total defeat” phrase was used frequently by UFCW spokesmen. See, for example, “UFCW Local P-9 strikes Hormel: The International union’s perspective,” UFCW Leadership Update, February 1986.

24. Thomas A. Kochan, Harry C. Katz, and Robert B. McKersie, The Transformation of American Industrial Relations (New York: Basic Books, 1986), pp. 21–108, 110, and passim. The authors suggest four plausible scenarios for the future, the most likely shortterm trend being a continuation of current trends in which “union-management relations will become more adversarial, managerial opposition will intensify, and management will speed the pace of outsourcing and technological change in order to further reduce vulnerability to unionization.” The AFL-CIO’s long-dreamed-of reform of labor laws to allow fairer representation elections would not “make any significant difference in the unionization rate of large firms or in the quality of the union-management relationship in existing bargaining units,” they say (p. 252).

25. Robert Michels, Political Parties (Magnolia, Mass.: Peter Smith, 1960), pp. 50–52, 78–111, and passim.

26. Nyberg interview; Anderson interview.

27. “Officials charge P-9 didn’t want settlement,” Minnesota Daily, July 18, 1986.

28. Interview with William Serrin, January 22, 1988.

29. Letters, Nicholas Szast, dated January 23,1986; Gerard Nickels, dated February 20, 1986.

30. “Legacy of Hormel strike,” BNA Labor Relations Reporter, November 24, 1986; “Big labor tries to end its nightmare,” New York Times, May 4, 1986.

31. “Going local: plant-level talks rise quickly in importance; big issue: work rules,” Wall Street Journal, March 16, 1987.

32. “Meatpackers gather to develop strategies to protect jobs, rights,” BNA Labor Relations Week, May 6, 1987.