BATTLE CREEK, MI (WNWN/WTVB) – The Kellogg Company announced on Thursday morning that a tentative agreement has been reached on a new five-year labor contract covering 1,400 employees at their U.S. cereal plants in Battle Creek, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Memphis, Tennessee and Omaha, Nebraska.
A vote by members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union on the tentative agreement has been scheduled for this Sunday, December 5.
Results are expected to be known early next week. If the contract is approved, it would end a nearly two month strike.
In a statement on the company’s web site, Kellogg says the tentative agreement includes an accelerated, defined path to legacy wages and benefits for transitional employees as well as wage increases and enhanced benefits for all.
Bloomberg reported last week the U.S. plants affected by the strike were being operated by a combination of replacement workers and salaried staff and that Kellogg’s has been importing cereal from factories abroad to maintain supply during the strike.
Negotiations between Kellogg’s and the union have been contentious at times. Talks broke off in early November after an offer from the company was rejected by the union. The company said at the time they provided their “last best and final offer”. But the union says it did not achieve “a pathway to fully vetted workers without takeaways”.
More information on the tentative agreement can found at https://kelloggsnegotiations.com/.
