Things are not going g-r-r-r-eat for Kellogg’s, maker of Frosted Flakes and other cereals, as its unionized workers remain on strike.
The strike includes ~1.4k workers
They’re members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) and work in cereal plants in Michigan, Tennessee, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania.
BCTGM and Kellogg’s were unable to negotiate a new contract before their old one expired on Oct. 5, per CNBC. Union members have been on strike since.
What’s the issue?
The main beef is that employees are classified as either “legacy” or “transitional,” depending on seniority.
Transitional employees make ~$12/hour less and receive less desirable health and retirement benefits, per HuffPost.
Previously, transitional employees could account for 30% of Kellogg’s workforce. Kellogg’s wanted to remove that cap, which BCTGM opposed.
The union also rejected an offer that let workers move to the higher pay level after 4 years but was limited to only 3% of a plant’s headcount.
Workers also want:
- Better hours: Workers say they worked extreme overtime — sometimes 16-hour days, 100+ days in a row — amid the pandemic, during which cereal consumption reached record highs.
- Better pay: The latest rejected offer gave legacy employees a 3% raise — but that’s lower than inflation.
What’s happened since?
Kellogg’s says it’s made 6 offers. After the union rejected the last one in early December, it announced it would replace striking workers, which President Biden said left him “deeply troubled.”
Meanwhile, people in support of the workers began spamming application sites with bogus resumes.
