Kellogg’s has reached a tentative agreement with its 1,400 cereal mill workers, which will result in 3% raises and the end of a nearly two-month strike.
The firm stated Thursday that the five-year agreement with the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers International Union includes cost-of-living adjustments in the second through fifth years of the contract and maintains the workers’ present health coverage.
Workers at Kellogg’s, who have been on strike since October 5, will vote on the new contract on Sunday.
The new agreement covers employees at all of Kellogg’s US cereal plants in Battle Creek, Michigan; Omaha, Nebraska; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; and Memphis, Tennessee, where all of the company’s well-known cereal brands, including Frosted Flakes and Rice Krispies, are manufactured.
The proposed deal also tackles the two-tiered wage system that had been a source of contention for the union. The scheme pays newer workers less and provides fewer benefits, and it affects up to 30% of the staff at the facilities. The arrangement, according to the Battle Creek, Michigan-based corporation, will allow all staff with at least four years of experience to move up to the higher legacy pay level immediately, with additional workers moving up in the contract’s later years.
The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, and Grain Millers union has tentatively agreed to a 5-year contract with Kellogg’s that includes pay raises.
Kellogg’s moved to court in Omaha last month to obtain an order establishing guidelines for how employees should conduct on the picket line because the business claimed striking workers were blocking access to its cereal facility and intimidating replacement workers. Union executives denied any wrongdoing.
Employees had been working long hours for the past 18 months to keep up with demand during the coronavirus outbreak, so the union fought for greater wages. Workers also claimed that the country’s persistent chronic workforce shortages provided them an advantage in negotiations.
Before returning to work last month, more than 10,000 Deere workers received 10% raises and increased benefits in another recent walkout.
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