U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken and Representatives Collin Peterson and Tim Walz suggest it is time to bring in a “new high-level mediator” to help Moorhead-based American Crystal Sugar and union workers reach a deal. The four DFL members of Congress sent a letter to leaders on both sides of the yearlong labor dispute on Thursday.

American Crystal says the latest proposal from its workers includes none of the company's suggestions for ending the lockout that is approaching six months. Meanwhile, the company has posted help wanted ads for what it describes as "long-term temporary" workers.

Union officials quickly embraced the plan but management has stayed quiet. Dayton is urging both parties to resume negotiations and not stop -- except to eat and sleep -- until they can reach a deal.

American Crystal Sugar Co.’s locked-out workers will hold rallies in front of grocery stores in Fargo and in Grand Forks on Monday as they launch a national consumer boycott of the company’s products, the Fargo Forum reports. It's the latest development in the long-running labor dispute that dates to August 2011, when about 1,300 union workers at the company’s plants in Minnesota, North Dakota and Iowa were locked out by management.

Union leaders and company executives returned to the bargaining table for the first time in more than two months, though they left again without a deal. WDAY reports Crystal Sugar is sticking with what it calls its final offer, but union workers are still worried about some of the contract's wording surrounding job security.

The chief executive says he thinks the parties will eventually reach a settlement that gets locked-out workers back on the job. “Bruises take awhile to get healed, but we’ll get over it,” said David Berg. The workers, meanwhile, want the company to explain why they were locked out in the first place.

For the first time since February, talks to end a 9-month contract dispute are scheduled to resume on June 8. About 1,300 workers at Crystal plants in Minnesota, North Dakota and Iowa have been locked out since August.