Hormel Local Sues to Block International

Striking meatpackers in Minnesota asked a federal court Tuesday to block their parent international union from seizing control of their renegade P-9 local in Austin, Minn.

In a suit filed in U.S. District Court here, the 1,000-member local also seeks $13 million in damages from the United Food and Commercial Workers union and its top officers, accusing them of “maliciously interfering” in the eight-month strike against Geo. A. Hormel & Co.

“We’re suing them for undermining our struggle,” the local’s president, James Guyette, told reporters after the suit was filed. “Our membership has been forced to fight not only the company’s union-busting, but our own top officials’ malicious and shameful campaign to aid Hormel in defeating the strike.”

Called ‘Publicity Stunt’

Allen Zack, a spokesman for the international union, called the court action a “publicity stunt” and said the international union “is confident that the suit will be found to have no merit.”

About 1,500 P-9 members struck Hormel’s meatpacking plant at Austin last Aug. 17, vowing to resist wage and other concessions accepted by workers at other Hormel plants in contracts negotiated by the UFCW.

The company reopened the plant in January, with about 500 P-9 members returning to their jobs. Hormel has hired 540 replacements for those continuing the strike.

Removed Strike Sanction

The UFCW, which has 1.1 million members, removed its sanction of the strike on March 14, ordered P-9 leaders to end it and cut off strike benefits of $65 a week to those who continued picketing and advocating a nationwide boycott of Hormel products.

Two weeks later, UFCW President William H. Wynn, who earlier had accused the P-9 local of “committing suicide,” initiated plans to put the local into trusteeship after Guyette vowed to continue the strike.

The international held a hearing on the trusteeship last month in Minneapolis but has not received a recommendation from the hearing officer.