Kellogg will replace striking employees as workers reject new contracts: NPR

Kellogg announced plans to permanently replace striking workers who rejected a proposed contract. The walkout started on October 5th.

Josh Funk / AP

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Josh Funk / AP

Kellogg announced plans to permanently replace striking workers who rejected a proposed contract. The walkout started on October 5th.

Josh Funk / AP

The Kellogg Company announced Tuesday that a majority of its U.S. workers have voted against a proposed five-year contract, and that the company will hire permanent replacements for employees who went on strike more than two months ago.

Temporary staff have worked at the company’s grain factories in Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

“After 19 negotiation meetings in 2021, and still no agreement reached, we will continue to focus on moving forward to run our business,” Kellogg North American President Chris Hood said in a statement.

Hood said the company had no choice but to continue carrying out the next phase of its “contingency plan” – to hire replacement workers.

“While it is certainly not the result we had hoped for, we must take the necessary steps to ensure continuity,” Hood said. “We have a commitment to our customers and consumers to continue to offer the cereals they know and love.”

“Interest in the roles (permanent replacement) has been strong at all four factories, as expected. We expect some of the new employees to start with the company very soon,” Kellogg spokesman Kris Bahner told Reuters.

The Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, the union representing the 1,400 striking workers, said in a statement on Tuesday that they would continue to provide “full support to our striking Kellogg members”.

“BCTGM is grateful for the fraternal support we received from the entire labor movement for our striking members at Kellogg’s. Solidarity is crucial to this struggle,” the union said on Tuesday.

Kellogg workers quit their jobs Oct. 5 at four factories in Battle Creek, Mich .; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Memphis, Tenn. and Omaha, Neb. after the company and the union failed to agree on the terms of a new contract after the previous one expired.

According to the union, Kellogg threatened to send jobs to Mexico, but in a presentation update on October 12, the company’s officials rejected this claim.

Kellogg also has a two-part payroll system, which some companies claim helps them save money. In the preliminary five-year agreement announced last week, the changes will include a 3% wage increase for long-term employees, as well as increases for both newer, “transitional” workers and new hires based on years of service.

Union members say the proposed two-tier pay system will take power from the union by removing the limit on the number of lower-level employees, Reuters reported.

The ongoing strike at Kellogg is one of many labor strikes that have taken place in the United States this year. Employees everywhere from John Deere to Frito-Lay to McDonald’s have all left their jobs so far this year.