On this day in Labor History the year was 1985.
That was the day that workers at the Hormel plant in Austin, Minnesota went out on strike.
They were members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local P-9.
Hormel had slashed workers’ wages by twenty-three percent during the early 1980s.
Benefits were also diminished and incentive programs rolled back.
These changes cut deeply into the Hormel workers’ earnings.
What had been considered a good job was changing drastically.
This was the story for many workers in Reagan-Era America.
The 3,500 Hormel workers voted overwhelmingly to strike.
The national UFCW discouraged the action.
The strike lasted more than a year.
Strikebreakers were brought in, including some of the union members who crossed the picket line to return to work.
The National Guard was called in to keep the peace between strikers and scabs.
After a year, the strike went down in defeat.
Even after the strike, many were not called back to work.
They were put on waiting lists for a job to reopen.
Some never returned to the plant.
Twenty-five years after the strike the Austin Daily Herald staff wrote, “What resulted was a bitter, drawn-out labor dispute that drastically impacted the community, from workers who lost jobs to families that were torn apart by picket lines.”
The strike became the feature of a documentary by Barbara Kopple.
In 1990 the documentary, “American Dream” won the Academy Award. The
film tells the story of the Hormel strike as a window into the tragic experiences of many workers in during the 1980s.
The film was made on a shoestring budget.
Singer Bruce Springsteen provided $25,000 to help support this important film
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February 7 - Strike at Cripple Creek
February 6 - Philly Garment Workers Win!
February 5 - The Fight for Craft Governance
February 4 - Solidarity on the Coast
February 3 - Anti-Trust Injunctions Used Against Labor
February 2 - The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
February 1 - A Pivotal Moment in the Flint Sit-Down
January 31 - The Big Easy Fires 7000 Teachers
January 30 - Fred Korematsu Day
January 29 - Bread & Roses Striker, Anna LoPizzo, Shot Dead
January 28 - The 1917 Bath Riots
January 27 - Bans on Yellow Dog Contracts Ruled Unconstitutional
January 26 - Sid Hatfield Stands Trial
January 25 - Solidarity Works!
January 24 - Arturo Alfonso Schomburg is Born
January 23 - If Poison Doesn’t Work, Try Briggs!
January 22 - Tragedy in the Mines & in the Union Hall
January 21 - On Strike for Health & Dignity
January 20 - The Flint Womens Emergency Brigades
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