BOISE, IDAHO — Grower-owned sugar beet processor Amalgamated Sugar Co. and the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) have ratified a new five-year collective bargaining agreement covering approximately 1,400 employees and averting a potential strike from union members. The groups had been in negotiations since the end of May and completed the talks just before the start of the sugar beet harvest and processing of sugar beets at Amalgamated Sugar’s four facilities.