More than one thousand Kellogg’s workers who have been on strike since October will be laid off, the cereal giant has said.
The company announced it is permanently replacing 1,400 US employees after the majority of its cereal plant workforce rejected a deal for a 3% pay rise.
The Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) International Union said an overwhelming majority of workers had voted down the five-year offer.
Staff said they deserved a higher wage boost because they often work over 80 hours a week and kept the company going during the pandemic.
Employees have been striking since October 5 at plants in Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
They make all of the company’s well-known brands of cereal, including Apple Jacks and Frosted Flakes. The strike is expected to continue - with some stores in the US reporting stock shortages since October due to the staff absences.
Speaking to the Guardian, Michigan employee Trevor Bidelman described it as a “fight for our future”.
“We just work seven days a week, sometimes 100 to 130 days in a row,” he said.
“For 28 days, the machines run, then rest three days for cleaning. They don’t even treat us as well as they do their machinery.”
Union president, Anthony Shelton, added: "The members have spoken. The strike continues.
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“The International Union will continue to provide full support to our striking Kellogg’s members.”
Workers say they are also striking against a proposed two-tier system that gives newer workers at the plants less pay and fewer benefits.
Kellogg's said it would now move forward with plans to start hiring permanent replacements for the striking workers.
Chris Hood, president of Kellogg North America, said: “While certainly not the result we had hoped for, we must take the necessary steps to ensure business continuity.
“We have an obligation to our customers and consumers to continue to provide the cereals that they know and love.”
Earlier this year, about 600 food workers went on strike at a Frito-Lay plant in Topeka, Kansas, and 1,000 others walked off the job at five Nabisco plants across the US.
In another recent strike, more than 10,000 Deere workers secured 10% raises and improved benefits, but those gains came after the workers remained on strike for a month and rejected two offers from the company.
The offer that Kellogg's workers rejected was the first one they have voted on since the strike began.
