BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — Tuesday marks three full weeks of workers at Kellogg plants across the country going on strike.
Both the company and strike negotiators said they may be willing to return to the table.
21 days and 325 workers remain on strike at Kellogg's Battle Creek plant along with other workers from plants in Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Nebraska.
#HAPPENING: Today marks the third week union workers have been striking outside of Kellogg Company’s #BattleCreek plant & plants in three other states.
— Lauren Kummer (@LaurenKummerTV) October 26, 2021
Both Kellogg Company & strikers saying they’re ready to sit down to renegotiate a new agreement. @FOX17 pic.twitter.com/XdFKULwIyj
Members of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Union said their mission is to "obtain a fair contract that provides a living wage and good benefits".
Strikers said they're fighting to block a system that would prevent some employees from receiving full benefits and earning a pension.
Both Kellogg Company and strikers said they're willing to sit down to re-negotiate.
Kellogg Company released this statement on Monday evening:
For the second time since Oct. 4, just before the Union decided to strike, Kellogg Company reached out directly to union leaders today asking to resume bargaining and suggesting that happen this week.
Our request emailed this morning to union leaders read, “As we have stated from the beginning, the Company is willing to consider any proposals from the Union including proposals that would preserve a pathway for transitionals to legacy wages and benefits. At the end of the day, we have a responsibility to these employees – which is to engage in good faith bargaining toward a replacement agreement that gets them back to work.”
We are hopeful that the Union will respond favorably to our invitation, so that we can resume the process of reaching a new agreement, and returning our employees to work.
The BCTGM Negotiation Committee responded with this statement:
[The company has] finally signaled their willingness to reach an agreement that will include a path for all current and future employees to fully loaded wages and benefits and get rid of the 2-tier system.
"The way the whole program was originally intended is when someone retires, the next person moves up and then they become full time. The company does not want to do that. They don’t want to honor that. We are fighting for the people who are doing the same jobs as us, the same hours as us for less pay and less benefits," said Kellogg Company Food Processing Employee Brian Hammond.
Kellogg Company said they reached out to union leaders on Monday suggesting they resume bargaining starting this week.
