BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — Striking workers at Kellogg Company's Battle Creek plant are getting attention from a high-profile federal lawmaker.
Senator Bernie Sanders (I - Vermont) announced Tuesday he will rally with the workers on Friday, December 17. His visit will be the first for any federally elected official to the on-going strike.
Kellogg's workers made the company BILLIONS during a pandemic by working 12-hour shifts, some for more than 100 days in a row. But Kellogg's is now choosing corporate greed over the workers they once called “heroes.”
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) December 14, 2021
On Friday, I’m going to Michigan to stand with the workers. pic.twitter.com/aJftYweFAN
Union workers walked off the job October 5. Negotiations between Kellogg's and the union stalled several times before and after the end of the contract. A week ago the union soundly rejected a preliminary agreement reached by its negotiating team and the company. In his announcement for Friday's rally, Sanders claims Kellogg ended negotiations.
READ: Union votes down proposed agreement
After the decision, Kellogg announced it would be hiring permanent replacement workers to take the spots of striking workers.
The strike includes roughtly 1,400 workers in four states: Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nebraska and Tennessee. Those workers are all a part of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco and Grain Millers' Union (BCTGM).
In Battle Creek, around 325 workers are with the BCTGM Local 3-G chapter. They say they are fighting for some employees to receive full benefits and a pension.
Senator Sanders plans to rally with the workers at Festival Market Square, starting at 3 p.m. on December 17.
