Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Tennessee AFL-CIO Joins BCTGM Members on Strike Against Kellogg

Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.

Some 1,400 members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) at the Kellogg Co. are taking a stand on the future of their workforce by going on strike at four different cereal plants. One of these plants is in Memphis, Tennessee, where members of BCTGM Local 252G have been on strike since Oct. 5. Members of the Tennessee AFL-CIO Labor Council joined striking Kellogg workers Wednesday on the picket line.

“I’ve been in the labor movement for a long time, and what I saw earlier this week was truly something special. The energy and solidarity on the picket line in Memphis is powerful,” said AJ Starling (ATU), secretary-treasurer of the Tennessee AFL-CIO Labor Council. “It truly feels like one big family that’s gathered to support one another. Community leaders, elected officials, and countless union members have all stopped by to show their support for BCTGM Local 252G and all Kellogg’s workers who are on strike across the country. At a time when the company is making record profits, management’s ongoing attempt to enact a two-tier wage system and divide the workforce is inexcusable. These hard-working employees deserve to be treated with dignity, respect and fairness on the job. As I said on Wednesday, all 60,000-plus members of the Tennessee AFL-CIO Labor Council are standing in solidarity with BCTGM Local 252G and will continue to do so for the duration of the strike.”