Kellogg announced it plans to hire permanent replacements after union members voted against the cereal company’s latest offer this week.
For the past nine weeks, 1,400 Kellogg workers have been on the picket line in Michigan, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Nebraska. In Battle Creek, where the company is headquartered, 325 hourly workers are standing with the union’s decision to not return until their demands are met.
Workers walked out at midnight on Oct. 5 once their contract expired. The heart of the negotiation is the company’s two-tier system the union says keeps “transitional” workers at a lower pay and benefit level for longer than agreed upon.
Related: ‘We’re not budging:’ Kellogg strike hits two-week mark as worker shortage aggravates labor conflicts
The Bakery Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) voted on the latest offer Sunday, Dec. 5 and announced on Tuesday that the majority was against it. Kellogg says the offer outlines “an accelerated, defined path to legacy wages and benefits for transitional employees, and wage increases and enhanced benefits for all.”
Kellogg considers this its sixth offer but Local 3G union president Trevor Bidelman says this contract was the “first voteable” offer thus far. The union saw the current offer as a short-term fix that could undermine them in the future.
“It’s kind of like a Trojan horse,” he said. “The long term effects of this would actually be negative upon where we’re sitting right now.”
The two-tier system remains the tension point as the company will not agree to a definitive cap on how many years before will move transitional workers into “legacy” status. Without a defined cap the union fears transitional workers will outnumber the legacy thus undermining future negotiations. Bidelman estimates 700 of the 1,400 workers are on track to retire within the next ten years.
Kellogg spokesperson Kris Bahner said the union had “unrealistic expectations” throughout the negotiation process. There is no future negotiation date set at this time.
In previous years the union found holes in their contract in hindsight, Bidelman said. After 17 years with the company Bidelman said he understands Kellogg’s negotiation tactics better.
“We’ve all been around long enough to see what Kellogg does and how they operate,” he said. “We’re very guarded. We’re being very smart and being very intelligent about the long term effects of this contract.”
Related: ‘Tony the tightwad’: Kellogg strikers rally outside Battle Creek headquarters
As a result of the continued strike, Kellogg announced it will seek permanent replacements.
“The prolonged work stoppage has left us no choice but to hire permanent replacement employees in positions vacated by striking workers,” Bahner said. “These are great jobs and posting for permanent positions helps us find qualified people to fill them.”
Third party workers and salaried employees have been filling in the gaps over the course of the last two months. Bahner said there has been strong interest in the vacated positions at all four plants. They expect to fill the positions quickly, she said.
The threat of permanent replacements feels empty, Bidelman said. There are 325 striking employees at Battle Creek. The plant employs 410 total. To replace and train an entire workforce will have Kellogg “chasing their tail” for some time, Bidelman said.
“We don’t really buy the threat and the rhetoric because we know that’s all it is — threat and rhetoric,” he said.
The union has taken a step further to file unfair labor charges with the National Labor Relations Board to secure their right to return to work, Bidelman said. The National Labor Relations Act states that employees striking on the basis of unfair labor practice are entitled to have their jobs back when the strike ends even if employees hired to do their work have to be discharged.
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