Kellogg Cereal-Worker Strike Continues as Trades Union Returns

(Bloomberg) -- Members of the Building and Construction Trades Council union will return to work Tuesday at the Kellogg Co. cereal factory in Omaha, Nebraska, while the broader strike against the company continues.

An estimated 100 third-party ironworkers, carpenters, electricians and other skilled tradespeople will go back to the plant to avoid defaulting on their contracts, Dan Osborn, president of the Omaha local of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, said Monday. Kellogg’s willingness to use other contractors during the strike has endangered the trades union jobs, Osborn said. “They’ll lose their contracts.”

Kellogg shares slipped less than 1% at 1:48 p.m. in New York. The stock has fallen almost 5% since the close of trading Oct. 4, the day before the strike began, while the broader market has gained.

The company’s roughly 1,400 cereal workers in the bakery and confectionery union remain on strike at plants in Omaha; Battle Creek, Michigan; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; and Memphis, Tennessee. The locations produce cereals including Rice Krispies, Raisin Bran, Froot Loops, Corn Flakes and Frosted Flakes.

Kellogg confirmed the latest move, saying in an emailed statement that “per their request, our third-party trade contractors are expected to come back to work as needed, starting this week.”

The Trades Council didn’t immediately respond to request for comment.

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