Farm Aid Faces Cancellation Over Labor Strike: ‘May Well Threaten the Survival of Our Organization’

Organizers of the Sept. 20 Farm Aid 40 performance astatine the University of Minnesota accidental they mightiness person to cancel this year’s festival if an ongoing onslaught astatine the schoolhouse isn’t resolved soon — a script they pass could person devastating consequences for the yearly event.

“The University’s Teamsters employees are connected onslaught due to the fact that of the University’s inability to travel backmost to the array to resoluteness this declaration quality justly. We are profoundly acrophobic that this jeopardizes our quality to clasp Farm Aid 40 arsenic planned,” reads a connection from Farm Aid’s co-executive directors Jennifer Fahy and Shorlette Ammons provided to Billboard.

“Our artists, accumulation squad and partners person made wide that they volition not transverse a picket line,” the connection continues. “The squad that is scheduled time (Sept 12) to statesman gathering our analyzable signifier and acceptable is made up of loyal accumulation radical who person an ongoing narration with labour crossed the U.S. They besides volition not transverse a picket line.”

Crews were acceptable to statesman gathering the elaborate signifier and tract accumulation wrong the Huntington Bank Stadium for the festival, which is acceptable to beryllium headlined by Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews, Kenny Chesney, Margo Price, Billy Strings and more. Approximately 50,000 fans were expected to be the concert.

Farm Aid began successful 1985 successful Champaign, Ill., and has been held 38 times implicit the past 4 decades, raising much than $85 cardinal “to beforehand a beardown and resilient household workplace strategy of agriculture,” according to its website.

Organizers announced successful May that the 40th day performance of the archetypal Farm Aid would beryllium held astatine the University of Minnesota. On Sept. 4, members of the Teamsters Local Union 320 — which represents nationalist assemblage employees astatine the school, including custodial staff, maintenance, nutrient work and sanitation workers — voted to cull a projected declaration hold from the University. Days later, they went connected strike.

Festival organizers said successful a connection provided to Billboard that enactment to acceptable up the staging for the festival needs to statesman connected Friday (Sept. 12). University officials provided a statement to the Star Tribune paper saying it has been “engaged successful speech with Farm Aid for months and particularly passim this week. The determination astir whether the lawsuit moves guardant is theirs. It is not a University of Minnesota decision.” 

“The University is and volition stay highly supportive of farmers,” the connection continued. “The University of Minnesota has gone supra and beyond to spouse with the orga...