A majority of American Crystal Sugar Company's locked-out union workers voted Saturday to reject the same demands management issued nearly one year ago.

A total of 82% of union members voted and 63% voted to reject Crystal’s contract offer.

Some 1,300 members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco and Grain Millers union have been locked out of seven Crystal Sugar production plants and other facilities in Minnesota, North Dakota and Iowa for 10 months. The company, which is a farmer-owned cooperative, has been operating with replacement workers.

“The non-negotiable demands of Crystal Sugar executives would dismantle union workers’ health coverage,” union leaders said in a statement.

The union said the company’s offer also would:

• Compromise safety and product quality by exempting outside contractors and supervisors from random drug testing;

• Disregard the value of skills and experience, and open the door to favoritism and nepotism in job promotions;

• Drastically diminish workers’ protection from unjust disciplinary measures; and

• Suppress workers’ voice on the job.

“Crystal sugar executives apparently can’t stand prosperity, and would rather waste millions trying to starve workers into submission than engage in constructive negotiations,” the union leaders said. “We know that real give-and-take negotiations are the only way to get this cooperative back on track to productivity and profitability. Crystal Sugar was built by cooperation among farmers, factory workers and managers. That cooperation has produced record profits in recent years, and, only through cooperating, will we be successful again.”

The union expressed gratitude for all the support members have received during the lockout.