Strikers Dealt 2 Setbacks in Hormel Work Dispute

Striking Hormel meatpackers lost two legal battles Friday when one federal judge refused to bar the international union from placing their local in trusteeship and another ordered them not to harass the trustee or remove records from union offices.

U.S. District Judge Edward J. Devitt issued a temporary restraining order in St. Paul prohibiting Local P-9 from transferring any of the union’s money from its Austin headquarters or removing records.

Devitt’s order came about two hours after U.S. District Judge Gerhard Gesell in Washington refused to temporarily block the takeover of Local P-9 by the United Food and Commercial Workers international union.

UFCW officials said Thursday they were taking control of the local and removing P-9 leaders because those leaders had refused to settle an 8-month-old strike with Geo. A. Hormel & Co.

In Minneapolis, the trustee appointed to supervise P-9’s daily operations vowed to go to Austin and renew negotiations with Hormel despite opposition from P-9.

“We’re the bargaining agent,” said Joe Hansen, UFCW regional director. “We want to negotiate a contract and move as expeditiously as possible.

“We want to get those people their jobs back and get a contract. . . . We believe they should turn that union hall over to us. We hope they will do it peacefully.”

Harry Huge, a lawyer representing the international union, told Devitt that police saw union members removing records from the union hall Thursday and asked him to take immediate action.

Devitt scheduled a May 27 hearing on whether the temporary restraining order should be made permanent. The defendants were also ordered “promptly to file evidence of compliance with this direction.”

About 1,500 P-9 members struck the Hormel plant last Aug. 17 in a dispute over wages and working conditions.