A few locked out workers from American Crystal Sugar were back on the picket line Wednesday to mark the one-year anniversary of the union lockout by company. More than 1,300 workers from plants in Minnesota, North Dakota and Iowa have been affected by the lockout.

Locked-out union workers from American Crystal Sugar will try once more to resolve its differences with company owners when it votes on a contract proposal Saturday. The workers, locked out of plants in Minnesota, North Dakota and Iowa for nearly a year, have overwhelmingly rejected two previous contract offers.

Ten Democrats in the Legislature have introduced a bill that would prohibit government departments and agencies from buying sugar from American Crystal until the company resolves its dispute with union workers. More than 1,300 workers have been locked out since Aug. 1.

A locked-out American Crystal Sugar worker is accused of giving false statements to law enforcement officers. Sheriffs officials say the union employee told them a replacement worker nearly hit him with a vehicle driving at high speed through a crowd of picketers. Police say the replacement actually drove slowly and the worker jumped on the hood.

Contract talks between American Crystal Sugar's leaders and union representatives once again ended Friday with no resolution. The meeting marked the fourth time the parties have tried to resolve their dispute with a federal mediator. More than 1,300 union workers have been locked-out of plants in Minnesota, North Dakota and Iowa for the past 10 months.

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.

Union members are demonstrating at the homes of American Crystal Sugar's directors as the labor dispute drags on. An AFL-CIO spokesman tells the Fargo Forum the demonstrations will continue indefinitely. Roughly 1,300 workers have been locked out from plants in Minnesota, North Dakota and Iowa for more than a year.