AUGUSTA, Mich. — After two months on strike, members of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Local 3G are standing strong. The 20 workers who make baking flour at Knappen Milling here walked out March 11, fighting for wages that keep up with rising prices and for safety on the job.
“I have two young children, in first and third grade,” striker Alex McIntosh told the Militant. “The Kellogg’s workers donating their strike fund to us in addition to our weekly strike pay has made it possible for us to sustain our strike, to pay our bills.” More than 150 workers at the nearby Kellogg’s plant in Battle Creek decided early in the strike to donate their own strike fund.
Members of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 131 from Kalamazoo brought water, food and a cash donation, strikers said. BCTGM Local 50G in Omaha, Nebraska, sent a donation of $5,000. Members of the West Michigan Stagehands union, in IATSE Local 26, here have joined their picket line. And officials and members of BCTGM Local 57 in Cincinnati at Kellanova, Kellogg’s snack division, sent a solidarity card and cash they collected after joining strikers on their picket line in March.
Jay Guthrie, a member of the bargaining committee, said in the last negotiations, “The company presented an offer that was even worse than what they offered before. We rejected it, and we’re going to keep fighting for what we deserve.”
“They don’t care about safety, or the workers,” said Ivan Caro, a miller. “On afternoon and night shift the millers have to work alone in the building. We are demanding at least two workers in each building at all times.”
“One of the biggest dangers we face is dust explosions,” McIntosh said. “It’s a danger for us and the surrounding neighborhood.
“They want to break our union,” he added.
Join the picket line at 110 S. Water Street in Augusta. Send solidarity messages and contributions to BCTGM Local 3G, 1006 N. Raymond Road, Battle Creek, MI 49014.