Kellogg’s union rejects deal with 3% raises to extend strike

By JOSH FUNK
AP Business Writer

Kellogg’s workers have overwhelmingly rejected a new contract that would have given them 3% raises, so the strike that began Oct. 5 will continue at the company’s four U.S. cereal plants. The union that represents the 1,400 workers released the results of the contract vote on Tuesday. Besides the initial raises, the five-year offer also included cost-of-living pay increases in the later years of the deal and would have preserved workers’ health benefits. Kellogg’s said it will move forward with plans to start hiring permanent replacement workers. The strike included workers at plants in Battle Creek, Michigan; Omaha, Nebraska; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; and Memphis, Tennessee.