SCOUTING YESTERDAY | Meatpackers' violent 1970s labor strike tested Sioux Falls leadership

This week in South Dakota history: July 11-18

Local 304 Amalgamated Meat Cutters union members strike outside Meilman Food Industries. Photo: Argus Leader

What began as a dispute over wages and job changes at a Sioux Falls meatpacking plant in 1975 erupted into one of the city’s most volatile labor conflicts — a strike marked by violence, arrests and court battles that stretched more than two years before a judge ruled in favor of the workers.

During their dispute with Meilman Food Industries, Local 304 Amalgamated Meat Cutters was alleged to have engaged in window breaking, property damage, assaults and disorderly conduct, which led to multiple arrests. On July 18, 1975, a hearing date was set after the complaint of violence and coercion was filed by the National Labor Relations Board.

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