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TO BUSINESS, LABOR, AND NATIONAL EDITORS:
BCTGM: U.S. Senators Call on Kellogg to End Memphis Lockout
KENSINGTON, Md., March 7, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Five
powerful and highly-respected United States Senators have asked the
Kellogg Company to "act swiftly to find a fair agreement" and end its
nearly five-month lockout of more than 220 workers at its Memphis,
Tenn. cereal production facility.
In a March 6 letter to Kellogg CEO John Bryant, Senators Sherrod Brown
(Ohio), Robert Casey, Jr. (Pa.), Cory Booker (N.J.), Robert Menendez
(N.J.) and Jeff Merkley (Ore.), reflected on the dedication of Kellogg
workers.
"Many of these hardworking individuals have been employed by Kellogg's
for decades. They have made their career working for your company. Yet
rather than being rewarded for their hard work and loyalty, they have
been forced off the job. Not only are workers without pay, but
families are without health insurance, unsure if they can afford their
prescriptions or visit a doctor. The result is that these workers, who
help prepare the food that others eat each morning, must decide
whether they can put food on the table or pay the bills."
Noting the harm that Kellogg is inflicting on the city of Memphis by
continuing the lockout, the Senators wrote, "This lockout not only
harms the workers, but the entire Memphis community as well. At a time
when our nation's inequality gap continues to grow, replacing
good-paying middle-class jobs with lower-wage, casual workers should
not be the corporate standard, and it is not keeping with your
company's history of nourishing families 'so they can flourish and
thrive'.
"Kellogg's workers work hard. They deserve nothing less than fair pay,
benefits, and full-time hours for their work. We sincerely hope that
you will end this lockout and let your employees return to where they
want to be: at work. We look forward to your response," conclude the
Senators.
More than 220 workers have been locked out of their jobs at Kellogg's
Memphis, Tenn. cereal plant since October 22, 2013. The workers,
members of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers
International Union Local 252G, who make Frosted Flakes@, Froot Loops@
and other breakfast favorites were locked out as part of the drive by
the company to replace steady, middle-class, full-time jobs with
casual part-time employees who would make significantly lower wages
and substandard benefits.
The BCTGM represents more than 4,000 Kellogg employees throughout
North America. The BCTGM also represents thousands more workers in the
cereal industry at such companies as General Mills, Quaker Oats, and
Ralcorp amongst others.
To read the full text of the Senator's letter, please visit the BCTGM
International Union's website, www.bctgm.org .
SOURCE Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers
International Union
-0- 03/07/2014
/CONTACT: Corrina Christensen, cchristensen@bctgm.org, 1-301-933-8600
/Web Site: http://www.bctgm.org
CO: Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union
ST: Maryland Tennessee
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