Safety is an issue for American Crystal Sugar Union leaders

East Grand Forks, ND (WDAY TV) -- American Crystal Sugar Union leaders are worried about safety as the company starts processing beets this week without regular workers. About 13-hundred union members have been locked out since Aug 1st after the union and management could not agree on a contract. The company plans to begin cutting beets at all of it's plants Thursday. Union leaders say American Crystal is playing high stakes poker because replacement workers don't have experience and could damage equipment. Union representative, Chuck Hughes, says, “That's not gonna teach them how to handle the chemicals, how to work with the hot steam, the hot juices, which they will have breaks there will be leak. There will be hot juice on the floor. They will get burnt." Company officials say the new workers have been trained on safety and it will be business as usual when the plants fire up.

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