Well, no single industry in the American economy relies more on immigrant labor than livestock and meat production.

The shift began a half century ago as the influence of labor unions and wages declined.

Fred de Sam Lazaro reports on how this change has played out in one Minnesota community that witnessed a landmark strike 40 years ago.

Austin, Minnesota has all the postcard 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 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 Hormel,

known for its bacon, ham, and most famously, spam.

There is even a spam museum downtown.

You had a company that had been in this community 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 Rackleff says Hormel, citing competitive pressures, sought and won tax breaks from the city

and 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.

They say to give back, police say, fight that.

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