The Kellogg Company has announced that it will be hiring workers to replace workers who went on strike in October.
As of Dec. 7, 1,400 hourly employees at the Kellogg Company’s four U.S. cereal plants in Battle Creek, Mich., Omaha, Neb., Lancaster, Pa. and Memphis, Tenn., rejected a tentative agreement for a new five-year contract.
“After 19 negotiation sessions in 2021, and still no deal reached, we will continue to focus on moving forward to operate our business,” Chris Hood, president of Kellogg North America, said in a statement. “The prolonged work stoppage has left us no choice but to continue executing the next phase of our contingency plan including hiring replacement employees in positions vacated by striking workers.”
Members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union have been on strike from Kellogg since they walked of the job on Oct. 5. The tentative agreement between the union and Kellogg would have provided an accelerated path to legacy wages and benefits for transitional employees as well as wage increases and benefit enhancements across the board, according to Kellogg.
“The members have spoken. The strike continues. The International Union will continue to provide full support to our striking Kellogg’s members,” Anthony Shelton, president of BCTGM International, said in a statement. “The BCTGM is grateful for the outpouring of fraternal support we received from across the labor movement for our striking members at Kellogg’s. Solidarity is critical to this fight.”
As the workers continue to strike for a better agreement between the union and the company, Kellogg expects to move forward with its plans. The company will begin to replace employees that have vacated as part of the strike.
"While certainly not the result we had hoped for, we must take the necessary steps to ensure business continuity," Hood said. "We have an obligation to our customers and consumers to continue to provide the cereals that they know and love."
