Battle Creek, MI – Workers on strike at the Kellogg’s plant in Battle Creek walked the picket line Thursday, October 7. They discussed two major issues leading to the strike. The first, a proposed two-tier payment system, where lower seniority employees have significantly lower pay and worse benefits. The second issue workers cited was overwork during the COVID-19 pandemic, with many employees working seven days a week with no days off, for months on end.

One worker explained he worked 3700 hours in a single year, or more than 70 yours per week without a vacation. His motivation to strike is so he can spend more time with his eight-year-old child at home. Another picket line worker explained that Kellogg’s is saying they will move about one-third of the jobs to a plant in Mexico.

The Battle Creek workers, members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers' International Union Local 3-G joined other union members in Memphis, Tennessee; Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Omaha, Nebraska in walking off the job at 1 a.m. Wednesday to begin the strike.

For many in Battle Creek, the Kellogg’s plant is considered one of the best places for working-class people to earn a living. Hundreds of local people express their support by honking while driving past the union pickets at both gates of the Kellogg’s plant. A Schneider driver who arrived at the plant entered the facility, but said that once he realized there was a strike, he refused to make his delivery.

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