FARGO, N.D. (AP) -- A delegation representing locked-out union workers at American Crystal Sugar Co. is taking its case to the people who own the company.

The union says it will hold a press conference before Thursday's annual shareholders meeting at a Fargo hotel, and then deliver petition signatures calling for the end of the lockout.

A Crystal spokesman says the company will hold its own news conference shortly after noon Thursday.

Moorhead, Minn.-based American Crystal is a cooperative owned by about 2,800 sugar beet growers.

About 1,300 union employees were locked out of their jobs on Aug. 1, 2011, after contract negotiations broke down. The company has been using replacement workers at its plants in North Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa.

The union last weekend voted for a fourth time to reject the contract.

Copyright 2012 The AP.