>> ERIC: 40 YEARS AGO, WORKERS AT THE HORMEL PLANT IN AUSTIN, MINNESOTA, WENT ON STRIKE.

THE DAYS, WEEKS, AND DECADES THAT FOLLOWED THE WALKOUT AND BREAKING OF THE UNION BY THE COMPANY WOULD CHANGE THE SMALL-TOWN COMMUNITY IN WAYS MANY NEVER IMAGINED AT THE TIME.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO COVERED THE HISTORIC STRIKE AS HIS FIRST ASSIGNMENT FOR "THE MACNEIL/LEHRER NEWSHOUR."

AND HE RECENTLY RETURNED TO AUSTIN, MINNESOTA.

>> AUSTIN, MINNESOTA, HAS ALL THE POST-CARD TOUCHES OF SMALL-TOWN AMERICA.

RINGING CHURCH BELLS.

QUIET STREETS.

AND WEEKNIGHT FOOTBALL PRACTICE UNDER THE BIG WATER TOWER.

BUT IT'S IN AN ADJACENT FOOTBALL FIELD WHERE THE NORMAN ROCKWELL IMAGERY MEETS THE 21ST CENTURY.

THEY'RE PLAYING SOCCER ON IT OR FOOTBALL AS IT'S LIKELY KNOWN IN THE MANY NATIVE LANGUAGES OF THESE HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS.

THE DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSFORMATION OF THIS COMMUNITY OF 26,000 OVER BARELY A GENERATION HAS BEEN DRIVEN LIKE MUCH OF ITS HISTORY BY HORMONE YES, HISTORY BY HORMONE HORMEL KNOWR ITS BACON, HAM AND MOST FAMOUSLY SPAM.

THERE IS EVEN A SPAM MUSEUM DOWNTOWN.

>> YOU HAD A COMPANY THAT HAD BEEN IN THIS COMMUNITY FOR 70, 80 YEARS.

HAD PROSPERED.

AND THEN SUDDENLY IN 1977, THE COMPANY ANNOUNCED THAT THEIR PLANT WAS HOPELESSLY OUTMODED.

>> LABOR HISTORIAN PETER RAT CLIFF SAYS HORMEL, CITING COMPETITIVE PRESSURES BE SOWGHTS AND WON TAX BREAKS FROM THE CITY ND A WAGE FREEZE FROM THE UNION IN EXCHANGE FOR MODERNIZING ITS PLANT AND KEEPING IT IN AUSTIN.

>> AND IN 1984, THAT SEVEN-YEAR WAGE FREEZE EXPIRED.

AND THE UNION SAT DOWN WITH THE COMPANY.

EXPECTING THAT WAGES WERE GOING TO GO UP.

AND THE COMPANY CAME TO THE BARGAINING TABLE AND SAID THAT THEY WANTED A 23% WAGE CUT.

AND AT THAT POINT, ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE.

[ PEOPLE CHANTING ] >> AFTER MONTHS OF AGITATION, 1500 WORKERS AT THE AUSTIN PLANT WALKED OFF THE JOB.

TENSIONS TEST KA LATED INTO THE BITTER WINTER.

AND NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS WERE CALLED IN O KEEP THE PEACE.

ESPECIALLY WHEN THE PLANT REOPENED ON THE COMPANY'S TERMS, WITH REPLACEMENT WORKERS AND ABOUT 500 STRIKERS WHO CROSSED THE PICKET LINE.

MORE THAN A IT THOUSAND WHO DIDN'T LOST THEIR JOBS.

>> I'D LIKE TO ASK YOU TO MAKE THIS MASS A SPECIAL MASS FOR PRAYERS FOR ALL THE COMMUNITY OF AUSTIN.

>> THE STRIKE DIVIDED CHURCH CONGREGATIONS, FRATERNAL GROUPS AN EVEN FAMILIES.

RONALD BERKSTROM RETURNED TO THE PLANT.

UNLIKE HIS BROTHER.

>> HE TOOK HIS POSITION, I TOOK MINE.

AND SINCE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, WE HAVEN'T TALKED.

>> I SAID, WELL, ONE SCAB IN A FAMILY IS ENOUGH.

>> WE REACHED OUT TO THE BERGSTROM BROTHERS, THEY ARE NOW RECONCILED AFTER YEARS OF BEING ESTRANGED, BUT THEY LIKE MANY OTHERS FROM THAT TIME FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE PICKET LINE DID NOT WISH TO REVIVE PAINFUL MEMORIES.

FOR ITS PART, THE HORMEL COMPANY ALSO DECLINED TO PARTICIPATE, SAYING IT HAD MOVED ON FROM THE STRIKE.

>> THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE LIVING HERE THAT DIDN'T GROW UP HERE.

>> RACE HARDY GREW UP HERE AND AS A TEACHER, HE'S SEEN THE DEMOGRAPHIC SHIFT UP CLOSE.

>> I GRADUATED IN 1982.

>> HOW MANY OF YOUR CONTEMPORARIES ARE STILL IN TOWN?

>> I WOULD SAY 20%.

AND NOW AUSTIN IS A MAJORITY MINORITY SCHOOL -- >> SCHOOL DISTRICT.

>> SO PEOPLE WHO IDENTIFY AS CAUCASIAN ARE THE MINORITY, AND AT THE TIME OF THE STRIKE, IT WAS 98%.

>> RACE'S FATHER WILLIAM HARDY, SPENT 46 YEARS AT THE HORMEL PLANT STARTING RIGHT AFTER HIGH SCHOOL.

>> AND WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, HE WORKED IN RENDERING.

>> CLEANING OUT THE GUTS OF BIRDS.

>> SO IT'S ALL THE STUFF WE'RE NOT GOING TO EAT.

>> HE JOB DID SUPPORT A SOLID MIDDLE CLASS LIFE STYLE FOR THE HARDY FAMILY, ONE THAT ENCOURAGED HIGHER EDUCATION AND FROM HIS FATHER AND FELLOW MEAT PACKERS, THIS ADVICE.

>> THEY SAID DON'T GO WORK IN THE PLANT.

GO GET A JOB WHERE IT'S NOT GOING TO WEAR YOUR BODY OUT.

>> THAT'S THE OTHER THING, IT WAS HARD WORK, RIGHT?

>> YEAH, YOU KNOW, I WOULD CHALLENGE ANYBODY TO GO IN AND TRY TO WIELD A KNIFE AT THE SPEED AND THE ACCURACY OF CUTTING UP A PIG THAT THEY DO.

IT'S MIRACULOUS TO WATCH.

>> MEAT PACKING WORKERS HAVE HISTORICALLY BEEN PEOPLE ONE GENERATION OFF THE FARM.

TODAY, THE WORKERS ARE FRESH OFF THE FARM IN ERITREA, IN TOGO.

>> DO PEOPLE CONNECT THE HORMEL STRIKE WITH THE IMMIGRATION THAT FOLLOWED?

GLOAFD, ABSOLUTELY.

>> TOM STEIN IS A FORMER MAYOR OF AUSTIN AND POLICE OFFICER, EVEN THOUGH SOME OF IN THIS NEARLY ALL-WHITE COMMUNITY WERE UNHAPPY WITH SO MANY NEW ARRIVALS, HE COMMUNITY AND ESPECIALLY POLICE HAD TO TAKE A NUANCED APPROACH TO IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT, HE SAYS.

>> IF THEY COMMITTED A CRIME, THEY WERE GONE.

BUT WE JUST WEREN'T GOING TO, YOU KNOW, STOP PEOPLE ON THE STREET AND SAY, OKAY, LET'S SEE YOUR PAPERS, BECAUSE IT WAS DISRUPTING A LOT OF THE FAMILIES AND STUFF IN TOWN.

>> IT WOULD HAVE DISRUPTED PRODUCTION AT HORMEL AS WELL, RIGHT?

>> OH, FOR SURE.

WE HAD TO INTEGRATE.

IT AWARD JUST THE FUTURE.

>> I WAS LOOKING FOR A BETTER LIFE AND BETTER OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE I GREW UP IN A REFUGEE CAMP.

>> OBALLO, FIRST ARRIVED IN MARYLAND BUT IT WAS HIS MOTHER WHO CAME HERE FOR A JOB.

>> SHE TOLD MY MOM, THIS TOWN IS REALLY QUIET.

GOOD PLACE.

YOU WILL FIND A JOB.

IT DOESN'T MATTER YOU SPEAK ENGLISH OR NOT.

>> HAT DID SHE DO AT HORMEL?

>> SHE WAS BE WORKING ON THE LINE IN THE HAM BONING DEPARTMENT.

>> HE BAREY SPOKE ENGLISH WHEN HE ARRIVED BUT WENT ON TO GET A COLLEGE DEGREE AND NOW WORKS A TEAM LEADER AT HORMEL.

>> SO YOU REPRESENT SOMETHING VERY IFFERENT THAN WHAT'S REPRESENTED ON THIS WALL.

>> YES.

>> AND IN 2020, OBALLA BECAME THE FIRST EVER NON-WHITE MEMBER OF AUSTIN'S CITY COUNCIL.

HE'S TAKEN PAINS TO ALLAY VOTER FEARS, HE SAYS, ABOUT IMMIGRANTS.

>> WHEN I DOOR KNOCK, SOMEONE WILL TELL YOU, ARE YOU EVEN A CITIZEN?

AND I DO HAVE TO TELL PEOPLE, OR PROVE MYSELF, WE ARE NOT HERE TO CREATE ANY CRIME.

THE GOOD THING, THE MAJORITY OF AUSTIN, THEY WERE READY FOR CHANGE.

♪ ♪ >> ERIC: FRED DE SAM LAZARO JOINS US NOW WITH MORE.

WELCOME BACK TO "ALMANAC."

>> IT'S GOOD TO BE HERE.

>> >> Eric: IT BROUGHT BACK A LOT OF MEMORIES TO BOTH OF US, REALLY.

BUT I WAS INTERESTED IN SOMETHING YOU COINED, WHERE YOU SAID, AUSTIN IS IN A SATE OF NERVOUS PROSPERITY.

CAN YOU EXPAND ON THAT A LITTLE BIT?

>> YOU KNOW, IT IS INTERESTING, YOU CAN GET AS MUCH WORK AS YOU WANT, IN THAT PLANT TODAY.

WHICH STRUGGLES TO FIND EMPLOYEES.

67% OR SO.

OR A SUBSTANTIAL UMBER OF WHOM ARE ACTUALLY MAI GRANTS, PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T GROW UP IN AUSTIN AND ALL LIKELIHOOD WEREN'T BORN IN THE UNITED STATES.

SO IT'S DEMOGRAPHICALLY VERY, VERY DIFFERENT.

ALL OF THIS UNFOLDING AT A TIME OF GREAT RANKER IN THE DEBATE OVER IMMIGRATION.

BUT WERE THESE PEOPLE TO NOT BE THERE, THERE WOULD BE A VERY DIFFERENT AUSTIN, MINNESOTA TODAY.

AND SO THAT IS WHAT ADDS UP TO NERVOUS PROSPERITY.

AND IF I CAN ADD A LITTLE BIT TO THAT.

>> Eric: PLEASE.

>> SLAUGHTER HOUSE WORK AS IT WAS KNOWN BEFORE IT WAS CALLED MEAT PACKING HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE FIRST STEP IN THE AMERICAN DREAM LADDER FOR NEW IMMIGRANTS.

YOU NEEDED TO KNOW HOW TO HANDLE A KNIFE, NOT HOW TO SPEAK ENGLISH AS MUCH.

AND THAT WAS THE CASE DATING BACK TO THE 1870s, 1880s.

AND URTHER.

AROUND THE 1930s, IT STARTED TO BECOME A MIDDLE CLASS OCCUPATION.

TICKENSIAN ECONOMICS AND THINGS WERE JUST FINE UNTIL THE MID-1970s WHEN YOU STARTED TO SEE A SHIFT.

WAGES CAME DOWN AS A RESULTED OF THIS STRIKE.

>> Cathy: WE WERE SURPRISES.

>> SO THE WAGES COME BACK DOWN.

AND AS I'VE SAID, YOU KNOW, I COULD HAVE SEEN ONE NON-WHITE FACE ON THOSE PICKET LINES IF I HAD BROUGHT A MIRROR WITH ME IN THOSE DAYS.

I MEAN, IT AS AN ALL-WHITE TOWN PRACTICALLY.

AND YOU GO THERE OW, AND IT'S JUST EXACTLY REVERSED.

AND DOES THAT NECESSARILY COINCIDE WITH THE FACT THAT YOU'VE BROUGHT THE WAGES DOWN AND YOU NOW HAVE IMMIGRANT LABOR?

BUT IT'S BACK NOW TO ITS ROOTS OF EMPLOYING NEW AMERICANS, OKAY?

AND IN MANY WAYS, THE FATE OF THE OFFSPRING OF THESE NEW IMMIGRANTS IS GOING TO BE A REALLY INTERESTING TEST ABOUT THE MINNESOTA EXCEPTIONALISM.

WILL WE SEE THEIR CHILDREN PROSPER AS MUCH AS THE PREVIOUS GENERATION?

YOU WORKED IN THAT FACTORY SO THAT YOUR KIDS DIDN'T NEED TO WORK IN THAT FACTORY.

>> Cathy: THE GENTLEMAN WHO'S A TEACHER.

NOW, OR WAS A TEACHER, RIGHT.

I WONDER WHERE THE NEXT WAVE OF IMMIGRATION WOULD COME FROM, IN TERMS OF, YOU ARE CORRECT.

THESE ARE NEW RESIDENTS.

THEIR KIDS ARE GOING TO SCHOOL.

AND I'M WONDERING WHAT THE NEXT -- WHAT DOES TEN YEARS LOOK LIKE?

DOES ANYONE VENTURE A GUESS?

I DON'T KNOW.

>> NOT THAT I ASKED AND IT WOULD WAY BEYOND MY EXPERTISE TO PREDICT, BUT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THE STATE DEMOGRAPHER WOULD KNOW WHERE THE NEXT PART OF THE WORKFORCE COMES FROM.

BUT ASPIRATIONALLY.

IT NOT BE THE KIDS THAT ATTEND AUSTIN PUBLIC SCHOOLS TODAY.

>> Eric: I JUST LOVE THE FACT THAT SOCCER HAS PLAYED A PART IN BRINGING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER.

>> IT'S SPORTS.

AND IT WAS REALLY BREATH-TAKING TO SEE, YOU KNOW, THE CROWD AT THOSE, YOU KNOW, IN THOSE STANDS.

AND YOU'RE GOING TO SEE EMERGE BY JUST VIRTUE OF BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER, IN THE SCHOOLS, THE FORGING, YOU KNOW, OF A MORE UNITARY COMMUNITY IN A SENSE.

YOU KNOW, A SENSE OF ONE COMMUNITY AS OPPOSED TO SEVERAL.

>> Cathy: WE DID NOT REMEMBER THE P-9 UNION WAS DISMANTLED AND ABSORBED INTO THE LARGER I THINK NATIONAL ORGANIZATION.

IS THAT WORKFORCE UNIONIZED AT THIS POINT?

>> IT IS, AND THAT IS, YOU KNOW, AN UNDERTOLD STORY THAT I HOPE WITH MY FRIEND PETER RACHLEFF TO TELL SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE.

THE UNION WHICH IS NOW DOMINATED BY IMMIGRANT LEADERS DID MANAGE TO NEGOTIATE A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN ITS MOST RECENT CONTRACT.

YOU KNOW?

WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THAT AUGERS FOR IN THE FUTURE I'M NOT SURE.

BUT IT'S REALLY INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT YOU'RE SEEING ARTS OF THIS CYCLE, YOU KNOW, REPLICATE ITSELF FROM BEFORE AND ARE WE GOING TO SEE THIS OCCUPATION BECOME A SOLIDLY MIDDLE CLASS ONE THAT WILL AFFORD THESE WORKERS A CHANCE TO SEND THEIR KIDS, YOU KNOW, TO OTHER OCCUPATIONS?

IF THEY CHOSE.

I MEAN, MAYBE THEY'D WANT TO WORK IN THE PLANT.

>> Eric: IS THERE THE FEAR OF I.C.E.

RAIDS?

IMMIGRATION RAIDS?

>> YOU KNOW, THAT IS A PERPETUAL FEAR THESE DAYS, I IMAGINE.

THE, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT A HUGE MEMBERSHIP-MASH OF PEOPLE THERE.

THERE ARE 46 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES SPOKEN THERE.

A LOT OF THESE FOLKS ARE REFUGEES.

MOST OF THESE PEOPLE, I DARE SAY, ARE LEGAL, BUT THERE ARE COMPLICATIONS EVEN WITH THAT, EVEN LEGAL VISAS CAN HAVE HOLES IN THEM POTENTIALLY.

AND THE ENFORCEMENT IS UNPREDICTABLE IN MANY WAYS.

AND SO NOBODY KNOWS.

>> Cathy: NICELY DONE.

>> Eric: FASCINATING STUFF.

IT WAS ALL LANGUAGE