MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Nearly 300 Kellogg’s workers in Memphis continue to walk the picket line Sunday as negotiations between the company and the union drag on.

It was October 5th when the 274 Memphis Kellogg’s workers walked off the job to walk the picket line.

Over the past month, those workers and workers at three other U.S factories began striking when the Union representing the workers and the company were unable to reach a contract agreement.

Union President Rob Eafen said there has been no meeting of the minds.

“This is a very big deal for labor, there is an all out assault on the middle class and we are not standing for it anymore,” he said. “It’s a wonderful feeling to know people are standing behind us.”

Those standing alongside in support include Lee Saunders, President of a trade union based in our nations capital.

“Workers are coming together and making their voices heard saying enough is enough is enough… And we are fighting back and making our voices heard,” he said.

Cleophus Smith knows firsthand what these workers are going through. He was part of the sanitation strike that would later bring Martin Luther King Jr to Memphis.

He has joined forces with those now taking a stand, saying this is a picket line they do not have to walk alone.

“If we made it happen in 1968, we can do it again today,” he said.

Mr. Smith said although the issues may be complex, the solution is simple.

“We have to be like the stamp and the envelope. We have to stick together. The stamp can’t go nowhere without the envelope and the envelope can’t go nowhere without the stamp. We have to stick together,” he said.

The workers say there is a cloud of uncertainty on when they will return to the job as it’s here they will stay until the company is able to strike a better deal.

WREG reached out to Kellogg’s who told us Friday the union and company were back at the bargaining table. Unfortunately, an agreement was not reached.

In a statement, the company went on to say the following:

On Nov. 3, we put forth a compelling Last Best Final Offer to the union. We are no longer proposing a permanent two-tiered structure. We have offered to continue the current pathway to Legacy wages and benefits, but with significant wage increases for current and future Transitional employees. We’ve proposed maintaining the Cost of Living Adjustment for Legacy employees and enhanced benefits for all employees. 

We asked the union to allow our employees to vote the offer. The union immediately rejected the offer and told us they would not put it before employees for a vote.

We remain ready and willing to consider any realistic offers from the union and hope we can reach an agreement soon so our employees can get back to work and back to their lives. In the meantime, we have a responsibility to our business, customers and consumers to run our plants, despite the strike. We are continuing operations at all four plants with other resources.