PETER J. RACHLEFF:

An Inventory of His Papers Relating to the Hormel Strike

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HISTORY OF THE HORMEL STRIKE

Local P-9, headquartered in Austin, Minnesota, was the bargaining agent for the workers at the George A. Hormel & Company meat packing plant in Austin. It was constituted in 1933, and was originally affiliated with the Independent Union of All Workers. After a 1979 merger between the Retail Clerks International Union and the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America, Local P-9 became affiliated with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW). James Guyette became president of Local P-9 in January 1984.

George A. Hormel & Company, a multinational food and consumer products company, was established in 1891 in Austin, Minnesota. Its principal products are meat and food products, including fresh and frozen meats, sausages, hams, wieners, bacon, Spam and other canned luncheon meats, microwavable entres, stews, hash, chilies, and meat spreads. In 1991 the name of the company was changed to Hormel Foods Corporation.

Local P-9 struck the company on August 17, 1985 over wage and benefit concessions and other issues. Local P-9 hired Corporate Campaign, Inc. to assist it in the strike. The strike dragged on with no resolution, and the company eventually hired permanent replacements for striking workers. In March 1986 the UFCW ordered Local P-9 to end its strike, boycott, and related activities against Hormel. P-9 refused to do so. On May 7, 1986 the UFCW imposed a trusteeship on Local P-9 and appointed Joseph T. Hansen as trustee, removing Guyette and the other officers. A tentative agreement was reached with Hormel by September 1986.

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SCOPE AND CONTENTS OF THE COLLECTION

The collection includes background materials, correspondence and related papers, legal files, newsletters, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, printed materials, flyers, snapshot photographs, and the script of a play.

Extensive minutes and related papers document the activities of the main support group, the Metro Area Hormel Workers Support Committee. Newspaper clippings, newsletters, and ephemera contain information on the other support groups, which include the Austin Emergency Appeal, the Austin United Support Group, and the local affiliate of the National Rank-and-File Against Concessions. There is a large file of newspaper and magazine articles taken largely from left-wing publications.

There is information about efforts to raise money and public support for the striking workers, extensive documentation of contacts with other unions around the state and nation asking for support, and records of a fund raising appeal for the legal defense of arrested strikers, including solicitation of "celebrity" endorsements. There is information about the UFCW International Union's takeover of Local P-9 when the local refused to end the strike (1986), the ouster by the International of P-9's officers and its appointment of Hansen as trustee, and the former officers' subsequent legal action against the International. There is information about a boycott of Hormel products led by Guyette and others, and charges of criminal syndicalism brought against Guyette and consulting "union strategist" Ray Rogers following a riot outside the Austin plant.

The materials were gathered by Peter J. Rachleff and David Riehle, active supporters of the strike and leaders of the Metro-Area P-9 Support Committee.

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

Note to Researchers: To request materials, please note both the location and box numbers shown below.

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