Expired Contract Leads Kellogg’s Employees to Strike in Battle Creek

Kellogg employees in Battle Creek and three other states are on strike after the company's contract with union workers expired.

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A contract with Kellogg's Company and four Baker Confectionery Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers (BCTGM) Unions expired overnight leading to workers hitting the picket line.

Late evening Monday, October 4, 2021, the union overwhelming voted in favor of approving a strike. Just after 1:00 a.m. Tuesday, October 5, 2021, the first employees hit the picket line outside the plant located at 425 Porter Street in Battle Creek, Michigan.

A little over a couple of dozen union workers were outside the plant late Tuesday morning. They are joined by union workers at Kellogg's plants in Memphis, Tennessee, Omaha, Nebraska, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

BCTGM says it has been working to negotiate “a fair contract that provides a living wage and good benefits.” The last offer from Kellogg's to its employees came on Friday, October 1. BCTGM says that the offer was posted on bulletin boards and was never presented to the negotiating committee.

Members of the union say that Kellogg's keeps taking more and more away from both current and future employees. Among the items workers claim are on the line are retirement, holiday time, vacation time, and premium healthcare.

On September 3, 2021, news broke that Kellogg's would cut 174 manufacturing jobs and 35 salary jobs in the City of Battle Creek. The news was confirmed by Battle Creek City Manager Rebecca Fleury in a letter to Mayor Mark Behnke and Battle Creek city commissioners.