BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (WOOD) — Union workers have said no to a tentative agreement with Kellogg’s that would have ended a two-month strike.
Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers International Union chapters voted Sunday to reject the deal. The union said the no vote was “overwhelming.”
That means about 1,400 workers at seven Kellogg’s cereal plants in Battle Creek, Pennsylvania, Nebraska and Tennessee will continue the strike, which began Oct. 5.
“The members have spoken. The strike continues. The International Union will continue to provide full support to our striking Kellogg’s members,” BCTGM International President Anthony Shelton said in a Tuesday 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.”
The five-year deal would have included 3% raises and a continuation of health benefits, cost-of-living adjustments beginning in the second year, and an alteration to the two-tiered wage system that was a sticking point in negotiations.
A local union leader told NewsNation affiliate WOOD last week that he did not think the 3% wage increase was enough considering the current economic climate and inflation. He also didn’t think the contract did enough to protect job security, noting that about 200 jobs at a Battle Creek plant are still going to be moved elsewhere by the end of 2023.