The Battle for Austin: How the Hormel Strike Reshaped American Labor

On August 17, 1985, fifteen hundred meatpackers at the Hormel plant in Austin, Minnesota walked off the job. What began as a stand against severe wage cuts and rapid line speeds spiraled into an iconic chapter of American labor history, complete with National Guard deployments, chemical gas on Interstate 90, and a bitter fight between rank-and-file workers and national union leadership. We break down the rise and fallout of UFCW Local P-9.