Minnesota laborers filed Unfair Labor Practices against the subsidiary of a Bismarck-based company.

The International Union of Operating Engineers/Local 49 filed an Unfair Labor Practices charge against Knife River, a construction materials and mining subsidiary of Bismarck-based MDU Resources Group Inc.

Knife River is an aggregate producer in Sauk Rapids, Minn.

Local 49 business manager Glen Johnson said the 25 workers at the Minnesota plant approached Local 49 for representation in negotiating a contract in January. After nine months without success, Local 49 filed the charges, saying that Knife River was not negotiating fairly and in good faith.

It's a contention that Rick Matteson, director of communication and public affairs for MDU Resources disagrees with.

"We've tried to negotiate fairly and honestly and in good faith, and unfortunately both sides have been unable to come to an agreement," Matteson said.

MDU Resources submitted a last and final offer several weeks ago that the workers unanimously voted down.

Matteson said they could produce a counter offer, but Johnson said MDU representatives refused new negotiation.

Johnson said he believes the company is deliberately trying not to come to an agreement, because after a total of 12 months they are no longer legally obligated to negotiate the contract. That period will end in January 2009.

"The whole world operates on contracts, but when it comes to employees wanting a contract so they can know how much they'll get paid, then they'll fight it tooth and nail."

The charges cover five key allegations against Knife River:

n Knife River refused to reinstate a laid off worker because of his (and his brother's) union activity despite seniority on the callback list.

n Threatened to deny benefits to workers solely because of their union status.

n Reduced the method and hours paid for union members without negotiating.

n Changed employment terms and conditions for union members without negotiating.

n Limited hours worked for union members by creating production quotas without negotiating.

One of the key points of contention is that Knife River used a point system to determine which employees to call back for seasonal work when business picked up.

"This points system was used to determine who they're going recall, and they never used it before," Johnson said.

He said this system ignores seniority and has been used to discriminate against workers with strong pro-union ties, while Matteson said the system is designed to retain employees based on performance.

"We have used a system that recalls people based on their performance - and the union wants to return to a pure seniority basis."

Another key point of disagreement is pay, and Johnson said in the last offer, some employees would be taking pay cuts of up to $5.

Matteson said this is because Knife River has lost $8.4 million in the first six months of 2008.

With the charges filed, both sides will now wait for a decision from the National Labor Relations Board. Until then, both sides continue to see the other as the problem.

"I would like to see Knife River actually come to the bargaining table with the people that are actually responsible for making decisions, not the attorneys," Johnson said.

Matteson said filing of charges have only hurt the negotiations.

"We've been trying hard; we'd like to continue to try hard," he said.

"And today's actions sprung us by surprise."