Kellogg Co. union workers reject contract as strike enters third month

Nick Buckley, Battle Creek Enquirer
·2 min read
First shift worker Brian Madsen pickets Kellogg Co. on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021, at the Porter Street plant in Battle Creek, Michigan.
First shift worker Brian Madsen pickets Kellogg Co. on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021, at the Porter Street plant in Battle Creek, Michigan.

About 1,400 workers at four Kellogg Co. cereal plants remain on strike after members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union rejected a tentative agreement with the company.

The strike, which began Oct. 5, will be prolonged after members "overwhelmingly voted to reject the tentative agreement," the BCTGM said Tuesday following a Dec. 5 vote by workers in Battle Creek; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Omaha, Nebraska; and Memphis, Tennessee.

"The members have spoken," BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton said in a release. "The strike continues. The International Union will continue to provide full support to our striking Kellogg's members."

MORE: Kellogg's files lawsuit against its striking cereal workers in Omaha

Demonstrators rally outside Kellogg Co. headquarters in support of striking workers

Kellogg Co. union workers strike in Battle Creek after contract expires

The strike has centered on the Battle Creek-based company's use of a two-tiered compensation structure agreed upon in 2015 under which employees are divided between "legacy" and "transitional" workers, the latter group made up of newer employees who receive lower wages and fewer benefits than their veteran colleagues.

Under the rejected five-year agreement, transitional workers with four or more years experience would automatically move into the legacy tier. All workers would have received a 3% pay raise and enhanced benefits.

"We are disappointed that the tentative agreement for a master contract over our four U.S. cereal plants was not ratified by employees," Kellogg said in a statement. "The tentative agreement would have provided an accelerated, defined path to legacy wages and benefits for transitional employees, and wage increases and enhanced benefits for all, on top of what is already an industry-leading compensation package, among other items. The tentative agreement included no concessions or takeaways."

Boxes of Kellogg’s Special K cereal are shown on display at a supermarket in an Omaha, Neb.
Boxes of Kellogg’s Special K cereal are shown on display at a supermarket in an Omaha, Neb.

In September, the company informed employees it would be cutting 212 jobs in Battle Creek by 2023 as part of consolidation and relocation of production across its ready-to-eat cereal network in North America.

During the strike, cereal production temporarily halted before Kellogg's began using salaried employees and third-party workers. In November, the company announced it would hire some permanent replacement workers after negotiations broke down.

On Tuesday, the company said in a statement, "the prolonged work stoppage has left us no choice but to hire permanent replacement employees in positions vacated by striking workers."

The last nationwide walkout among Kellogg's cereal makers was in 1972 and lasted 21 days.

Contact reporter Nick Buckley at nbuckley@battlecreekenquirer.com or 269-966-0652. Follow him on Twitter:@NickJBuckley

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Kellogg Co. union workers reject contract as strike enters third month