Employees Reject Tentative Agreement
We are disappointed that the tentative agreement for a master contract over our four U.S. cereal plants was not ratified by employees.
The tentative agreement would have provided an accelerated, defined path to legacy wages and benefits for transitional employees, and wage increases and enhanced benefits for all, on top of what is already an industry-leading compensation package, among other items. The tentative agreement included no concessions or takeaways.
We have made every effort to reach a fair agreement, including making six offers to the union throughout negotiations, all which have included wage and benefits increases for every employee. It appears the union created unrealistic expectations for our employees.
The prolonged work stoppage has left us no choice but to hire permanent replacement employees in positions vacated by striking workers.
These are great jobs and posting for permanent positions helps us find qualified people to fill them.
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.
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Update:
We have heard from many of our employees that they are under the impression that Kellogg and the union are scheduled to bargain next week. This is not true – there is no further bargaining scheduled and we have no plans to meet. Given that the strike will continue, our focus must continue to be on executing the next phase of our contingency plan.