Has a labor strike every caused a company to split into three separate entities before?

July 4, 2022

 Kellogg’s was subject to an 11-week strike at 4 of its Battle Creek plants last year, somewhere in the neighborhood of November 2021. The major collective action, which was part of one of the most significant periods of labor action nationwide in several years, ended with the striking workers negotiating a new labor contract, with raises and increased benefits to all workers. 

However, the backlash to the union victory seems to be unusual relative to other things union workers have had to face down. And I think it opens up a new paradigm in worker’s struggles that it is better to be prepared for than ignore. 

Kellogg’s split up into three allegedly separate companies. Some ancillary mentions on the ‘net suggest that General Electric, IBM and Johnson & Johnson also split up in recent decades. And there were strikes against those companies too. But the way Kellogg’s made this announcement left no doubt in our minds that it was a reaction to the strike. 

The responsible centrist press suggests, all-too-politely, that Kelloggs is threatening to cut and run on the community that nurtured it for over a hundred years. Concerned unionists wonder if this is intended to obstruct union organizing. And some, that we should not ignore, are pointing out that this may have something to do with the high price of wheat, as well. By splitting up, Kelloggs could sacrifice one department to prop up the others, for a variety of reasons. 

Whatever the reason for the split-up, the reality that remains necessitates a more nimble and adaptive labor movement. 

Note: This author is a member of the National Writer’s Union.