Kellogg's union rejects deal with 3% raises to extend strike

Kellogg’s workers rejected a contract offer Tuesday that would have provided 3% raises, so 1,400 workers at the company’s four U.S. cereal plants will remain on strike.

The Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union said an overwhelming majority of workers voted down the five-year offer that would have also provided cost of living adjustments in the later years of the deal and preserved the workers’ current health care benefits.

The workers have been on strike since Oct. 5 at plants in Battle Creek, Michigan; Omaha, Nebraska; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; and Memphis, Tennessee. They make all of the company’s well-known brands of cereal, including Apple Jacks and Frosted Flakes.

“The members have spoken. The strike continues,” union President Anthony Shelton said. “The International Union will continue to provide full support to our striking Kellogg’s members.”

Kellogg’s said it will now move forward with plans to start hiring permanent replacements for the striking workers. The company has already been using salaried employees and outside workers to keep the plants operating during the strike.

“While certainly not the result we had hoped for, we must take the necessary steps to ensure business continuity,” said Chris Hood, president of Kellogg North America. “We have an obligation to our customers and consumers to continue to provide the cereals that they know and love.”

Rutgers University professor Todd Vachon, who teaches classes about labor relations, said he’s not sure the company will be able to hire enough workers to replace the ones who are out on strike in the current economy, and Kellogg’s may have a hard time finding people willing to cross a picket line.

“By voting ‘no,’ the workers are making a strong statement that they are...