Talk:1985–1986 Hormel strike

request edit October 16, #1
Hello, wondering if we can update the article for accuracy. Thank you.

Some sources cite the number of strikers at 1400, versus 1500. Suggested new info:

Delete: The 1985–86 Hormel strike was a labor strike that involved approximately 1,500 workers of the Hormel meatpacking plant in Austin, Minnesota in the United States.

Add: The 1985–86 Hormel strike was a labor strike that involved approximately 1,400 workers of the Hormel meatpacking plant in Austin, Minnesota in the United States.

Some sources say the strike ended at 10 months.

Suggested new info:

Delete: August 17, 1985 – September 13, 1986 (1 year, 3 weeks and 6 days)

Add: August 17, 1985 – June 2, 1986 (10 months)

Then regarding the South Africa line, perhaps, more sourcing is needed since there may not be other unbiased sources that confirming 1. That there are ties between Hormel and the apartheid government of South Africa and 2. That the ANC supported Local P-9.

Delete: CCI also discovered ties between Hormel and the apartheid government of South Africa, leading to the African National Congress (ANC) supporting Local P-9 against Hormel.[15]

Add: Different TBD language regarding allegations of ties between Hormel and the apartheid government of South Africa.

Hello-Mary-H (talk) 22:21, 20 October 2020 (UTC)


 * Re: South Africa, the suggested replacement sentence was not given. With regards to the number of strikers, you've stated that "Some sources cite the number of strikers at 1400, versus 1500" but you haven't clarified which of the 4 provided sources state this. Please advise. Regards, Spintendo  14:17, 26 October 2020 (UTC)


 * Thank you Regarding South Africa, it is not clear if a replacement sentence is warranted. In your experience, what is recommended when one source alleges a connection to South Africa but two sources offer different information? Hardy’s book says, “He says that Jackson asked about a link between Hormel and South Africa—which Nyberg said did not exist—and “said he was very interested in the jobs of those who were not working.”

While Knowlton’s book says, “Somehow, Rogers and Guyette were afforded the opportunity to appear on Ted Koppel’s Nightline program, and, as I recall, they announced that Hormel was a major food manufacturer in South Africa. In fact, I had refused to approve manufacturing in South Africa until the apartheid issue was resolved. We kept asking the media to verify that Hormel was not manufacturing in South Africa – with no response.”

Regarding the striker count, three (not four) sources have differing numbers. There may be a formatting error, since the L.A. Times source shows up twice.

–The New York Times says: “Some 1,400 Hormel workers went on strike on Aug. 17, 1985.”

–Los Angeles Times says, "About 1,400 members"

–Chicago Tribune uses "1,400 workers"

Best regards, Hello-Mary-H (talk) 22:38, 29 October 2020 (UTC)


 * Hi, thanks for the input here. I hope to address your points in a timely manner over the next few days, but in the meantime I've already made edits concerning the number of strikers involved. After doing some more research, I found sources giving estimates of "about 1,400" and "about 1,500" or variations thereof and made a note of that where appropriate in the text, adding several additional sources for both claims. I think that "about 1,500" would be the more appropriate estimate given its use in the MNopedia article on the strike, which is cited in the note. Will update you as I address the other points. Thanks, JJonahJackalope (talk) 06:01, 5 November 2020 (UTC)


 * Hi, thank you for your hard work, update and response. Best regards, Hello-Mary-H (talk) 17:44, 5 November 2020 (UTC)


 * After looking the sources over, I don't think that it would be accurate to change the length of the strike to 10 months. Both of the sources you provided for the 10 month claim say that "it did not officially end for several more months" after June, and the MNopedia source you provided gives September 13, 1986 as when "the strike is declared over." Thanks, JJonahJackalope (talk) 03:27, 6 November 2020 (UTC)


 * Hi thanks for digging in to check it out and weigh in.  Hello-Mary-H (talk) 20:30, 14 November 2020 (UTC)


 * Hey, think I'm about done addressing all the points you brought up here. After additional research, I found that sources varied on the apartheid ties and made a note further explaining these discrepancies. Thanks, -JJonahJackalope (talk) 19:51, 6 November 2020 (UTC)


 * Thank you, it seems that the nature, extent, and validity of the alleged ties between Hormel and the apartheid government of South Africa could still warrant editing the text to say "CCI also publicized claimed ties between Hormel and the apartheid government of South Africa."

Also, the article says that Jackson traveled to Austin to act as mediator yet the Green reference has information about the nature and validity of that wording:

Jackson and Pierce also met with Nyberg at the corporate headquarters for about an hour. According to Pierce: The company was saying they had an obligation to the scabs. Jackson said, “When you look into the faces of your original workers, I know you can see two or three generations of people who have worked here. I simply ask you to search your soul and determine whether you truly owe the replacements more than you owe second- and third-generation workers who have been instrumental in building this company.” I felt that we may have made some progress. . . . I know that Nyberg was genuinely touched. Nyberg denies that the conversation went like that. He says that Jackson asked about a link between Hormel and South Africa—which Nyberg said did not exist—and “said he was very interested in the jobs of those who were not working.” Jackson did not offer to mediate, Nyberg asserted, but said he would do anything he could to help the company and the union. “We said that mediation wouldn’t be useful—we’d gone through the mediation process and gotten exactly nowhere.” And according to Nyberg, that is where things were left, though Jackson telephoned him twice over the next few weeks.15

Thank you.

Hello-Mary-H (talk) 20:30, 14 November 2020 (UTC)


 * Hey, just updated the article with the following edits:
 * -Added "alleged" before ties in the part discussing apartheid.
 * -Added a footnote discussing the information presented in the Green source. Ultimately, I feel like the wording that Jackson went to Austin to attempt to mediate stands based on the information presented in the United Press International source, though the footnote now notes that this is disputed by a company representative. Thanks, -JJonahJackalope (talk) 20:43, 14 November 2020 (UTC)