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Work at Kellogg’s Co. grain plants in the United States was halted this week as more than a thousand workers went on strike over expired union contracts and accusations that jobs were shifting to abroad.
In Battle Creek, Michigan; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Memphis, Tennessee; and Omaha, Neb., about 1,400 workers went on strike after the year-long negotiations failed.
The company and employees are stranded on wages and benefits, including health care and retirement, NBC News reports. Union leaders also say the company is threatening to relocate jobs to Mexico.
Daniel Osborn, president of the local Omaha union, said one of the issues with wages was the two-tier pay system offered at Kellogg’s, he told NBC.
As a lower level employee, you earn $ 11 or $ 12 less than a regular level; they also have higher insurance premiums and fewer vacations, Osborn said.
Kerry Williams, a Lancaster treatment maintainer, said Vice News that some workers are overworked – 12 or 16 hours a day.
Williams also said The Guardian that working conditions at Kellogg’s look like “a death of 1,000 cuts.” They are slowly eliminating jobs at the Lancaster plant.
“We have had to overcome this COVID for the past two years and they just disrespected the name of the union. They even want to remove our union logo from the cardboard cereal box, ”added Williams.
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The Guardian also reports that the company threatened the union to contract out jobs in Mexico if their terms were not accepted.
In a statement, Kellogg spokesman Kris Bahner said the company has not offered to move any factories or jobs outside of the United States as part of these negotiations.
“Most of the employees under this contract have full health insurance at no cost, while less senior employees have the same health insurance as our salaried employees, but with much lower employee contributions,” Bahner said in a statement. “Our proposals not only maintain these levels of compensation and benefits among the best in the industry, but also offer significant increases in wages, benefits and retirement.”
Trevor Bidelman, president of BCTGM Local3G, leads their efforts from Battle Creek. He told the Guardian that Kellogg’s did not want to offer a pension to new hires, that he also wanted to remove cost-of-living provisions and change paid time off and vacation time.
“We are fighting for our future,” Bidelman said. “We made it clear from the start of the negotiations that this is not something we can agree to.”
Battle stream has experienced similar layoffs in the past. In 2018, 187 workers lost their jobs after some of the tasks were transferred to Canada and other US factories. In 2016, more than 30 workers were laid off from Battle Creek. In a petition filed for trade adjustment assistance, employees wrote that the separations occurred because “the company is going through a global restructuring. India has taken over part of the day-to-day operations.”
In an email, Kellogg’s said those jobs were not at the factory and they were salaried jobs in the company.
In Memphis, the company attempted to redefine the concept of “casual” workers in order to reduce wages and benefits, says the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) as the locked outside around 220 workers from October 2013 to August 2014.
The NLRB determined the lockout was illegal and demanded that employees regain their compensation for wages and benefits they lost, but in 2016 a federal appeals court overturned this decision.
“We are disappointed with the union’s decision to strike. Kellogg provides compensation and benefits to our US RTEC employees who are among the best in the industry. Our offer includes salary increases and benefits for our employees, while helping us meet the challenges of the evolving grain industry, ”a Kellogg spokesperson said in a statement regarding the strike.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated on October 8 to reflect a statement from Kellogg’s and to clarify dates.
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