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Raisin bran crunch shortage9/24/2023 “Kellogg’s response to these loyal, hardworking employees has been to demand these workers give up quality health care, retirement benefits, and holiday and vacation pay. “For more than a year throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Kellogg workers around the country have been working long, hard hours, day in and day out, to produce Kellogg ready-to-eat cereals for American families,” said Anthony Shelton, president of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union. The union indicated workers in these cities produce Rice Krispies, Raisin Bran, Froot Loops, Corn Flakes and Frosted Flakes. The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union said in a press release Tuesday that 1,400 of its members in the company’s hometown of Battle Creek, Michigan, as well as Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Omaha and Memphis, hit the picket lines Tuesday morning. They’ve proposed adding costs that would threaten the future success of our plants and cereal business.Workers at the Kellogg Company - maker of breakfast staples such as Corn Flakes and Rice Krispies - are on strike, after yearlong negotiations between union and management broke down. The company said they made-its “last best final offer” on Thursday stating, “The union continues to insist on proposals that are unsustainable and unrealistic. Kellogg’s Q3 net sales surpassed analyst expectations at $3.62B, which was a 5.6% increase from this time last year, but share prices have decreased since the quarterly earnings call. When asked about the company’s statements regarding the ongoing negotiations Leed said, “I feel very disrespected that they only tell the public half the truth and it’s a slap in the face.” After years of declining cereal sales, 2020 saw a spike – “The company called us heroes, and now we’ve gone from heroes to zeroes.” Employees often work seven days a week, 60-70 hours on average. Michael Leed, a Lancaster worker on strike, said employees helped the company make millions of dollars during the pandemic. Kellogg did not reply to our request for comment but has denied these claims. She wants her colleagues to have that same security.Īnthony Shelton, president of the BCTGM union, told Fox News that Kellogg, “Continues to threaten to send additional jobs to Mexico if workers do not accept outrageous proposals that take away protections that workers have had for decades.” She says her zero cost healthcare, as a single mother with three kids, helped her daughter, a recovering addict, seek appropriate treatment. She pointed to the company’s statement regarding healthcare which is more expensive for newer employees. ![]() “We put food in front of millions of people every day and I am inspired by that.” But Greene, who is a legacy employee that could lose her livelihood by participating in the strike, says the company is mistreating transitional employees. Heather Greene, a Battle Creek worker on strike, said until recently, she was proud to work for such a recognized brand. Kellogg CEO, Steven Cahillane, said in the company’s third quarter-earnings call that it is not immune to these challenges and the labor strike is exacerbating these issues, specifically in the cereal market. Kellogg had contingency plans in place, like hiring replacement workers and stockpiling cereal from global warehouses. This pressure on companies is compounded with the supply chain bottleneck causing shortages and inflation on consumer goods.Ĭompany officials expected the strike, as tension has been building between the two parties. As the COVID-19 pandemic induced a wave of early retirees, workers shifting careers, and parents leaving jobs due to lack of childcare, firms are more motivated to keep existing workers happy in the short-term. Although the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers, and Grain-Millers International Union, contractually agreed to these terms in 2015, they want to renegotiate due to the toll it says it’s taking on its members.Ģ021 has become the worker’s economy. Legacy employees receive higher wages, free healthcare, and pensions while transitional employees receive a $15K signing bonus but have to pay substantially more for healthcare, are not entitled to pensions, and earn lower hourly wages. They are protesting the company’s two-tier system which they say allows for unequal treatment of newer or “transitional” employees – versus tenured or “legacy” employees. Kellogg warehouse employees, who make America’s favorite cereals from Raisin Bran to Rice Krispies, went on strike in early October. Frosted Flakes mascot Tony the Tiger and his popular saying “I’m great” has turned into “I’m greedy,” according to 1,400 workers on strike across Kellogg plants in Omaha, Nebraska Lancaster, Pennsylvania Memphis, Tennessee and Battle Creek, Michigan.
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