Background
Kellogg's is an American food manufacturer that derives about a third of its profits from its line of breakfast cereals, which includes brands such as Froot Loops and Frosted Flakes.[6][7] In the United States, the company operated four cereal-producing plants in Battle Creek, Michigan (also where the company is headquartered); Omaha, Nebraska; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; and Memphis, Tennessee.[8] Going into October 2021, the company had been negotiating for over a year with the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers' International Union (BCTGM),[8] a labor union that represents about 1,400 workers at these plants.[1][9] The union and company had had a rough relationship over the past several years, with the company performing a lockout at their Memphis plant in 2013 and 2014,[10] firing about 187 workers at their Battle Creek plant in 2018, and in September 2021,[11] announcing that they would be firing about another 200 employees from that plant, a majority of whom would be union employees.[12] One worker, describing the situation at the Lancaster plant, compared it to a "death of a thousand cuts".[12][13] While the contract between the union and company had expired in 2020, an extension renewed the existing contract until October 2021.[14]
On September 8 and 9, 2021, both sides submitted their proposals for a new contract and entered into discussions on them.[15] However, during the negotiations, the parties could not agree on several key issues, including policies regarding health care, holidays, retirement benefits, and vacation time.[7][16] In particular, Kellogg's was seeking to expand a two-tier employee system composed of "legacy" and "transitional" employees. According to the company, legacy employees average $35 per hour, and newer "transitional" employees make $22 per hour.[17] Under the system that had been in place in the prior five-year contract, transitional employees received less pay and reduced benefits compared to the legacy employees, but only 30% of all employees could be classified as transitional.[2] Kellogg's, however, was seeking to remove this cap, which the union alleged would cause a majority of employees to become classified as transitional.[2] The union was opposed to these changes and also stated that the company was threatening to move some production work to Mexico
