BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN – Abandoned buildings and shuttered businesses surround the city limits of the world’s cereal capital. The devastation is a familiar sight across cities in the industrial Midwest. You imagine the vibrant life past generations lived, knowing that little fault for today’s ruins lies with the residents crushed by the tides of job losses from NAFTA, the 2008 financial crisis, and an insufficient economic recovery, all worsened by the last two years of the pandemic.
Still, Kellogg, a remaining fixture in this Michigan town, reported global operating profits of $1.76 billion in 2020, and its CEO Steve Cahillane took home compensation of $11.6 million. Drive downtown and the Kellogg name is emblazoned everywhere, from folksy visitor centers to large corporate brick buildings. But the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (BCTGM) Local 3-G is challenging the corporate giant, striking across the train tracks that circle the Battle Creek plant’s perimeter.
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