Dear Kellogg RTEC employee,

Kellogg Company is trying to preserve your job.

Despite the challenges that exist in the RTEC category about which you are keenly aware we have presented you
a viable solution that not only would continue to provide you outstanding wages and benefits, but unlike our
competitors, would guarantee your plant remains open for years to come.
We are proud of the work we did with your International union leaders and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation
Services (FMCS), late last year. Our discussions to address the long-term health of the North American cereal
network were extremely productive and culminated in the mutually beneficial proposal, presented to you for a vote
on Dec. 4.
We are very disappointed in the outcome of the December Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) ratification vote and
the fact that our business challenges continue to go unaddressed. We are concerned about the implications for the
future of our RTEC network and what that means for you.
The State of the Cereal Business
The reality is that significant challenges remain. As you hear regularly in the news, the RTEC category continues to
decline not just for us, but for our competitors and that leaves us with far more production capacity than we
need in our U.S. cereal network. General Mills, in fact, announced three more plant closures just recently including
a cereal plant in Lodi, CA resulting in the loss of more than 900 jobs.
We are at a pivotal fork in the road and you can influence the path we take. We are evaluating our U.S. RTEC
manufacturing network, including our plants in Memphis, Omaha, Battle Creek and Lancaster. We also are
evaluating opportunities to expand our cereal plant in Belleville, Canada.
The MOA is the best chance to maintain the footprint of the U.S. RTEC network as it exists today. We believe that
with the MOA, things can be different for Kellogg than it has been for our competitors in the industry. However,
without this agreement, or a similar alternative that addresses our business challenges, Kellogg will have no choice
but to announce the closure of at least one U.S. cereal plant in the very near future.
Our Proposal
Kellogg continues to believe that this MOA represents the best path forward for all of us to stabilize and sustain
our cereal business and enable U.S. RTEC to be more competitive across our Global Supply Chain network. We
sincerely hope that you will reconsider your position on the MOA. It is, in fact as you have heard from your union
leadership the only opportunity yet identified to collectively achieve the cost savings necessary to stave off
otherwise inevitable plant closures.
The proposed MOA not only addresses the immediate needs of the business, but would preserve jobs at your plant
and in your community for at least the next four years, while maintaining the best wages and benefits in the
industry.
Unfortunately, a lot of misinformation circulated regarding the MOA, both before and after the ratification vote. We
believe it is our obligation, as your employer, to ensure the facts of the agreement are shared, so that you might
better understand your actions and make informed decisions in the future.
Included with this letter is an accurate summary of the proposed MOA, as well as a Facts and Myths sheet that
addresses some of the most egregious misinformation shared to date. Below are the most critical facts at a glance.

Benefits

Wages

Pension

Non-Regular
employee
progression

Current
100% coverage in network
No premiums
No deductibles
Wages adjusted (up or
down) based on quarterly
COLA index (Historical
average of 1.9% annual
increase)
Monthly benefit with a
multiplier of $76 for each
year of credited service
Non-regular employees
(casual/seasonal) ineligible
for benefits
No formal path to regular
employee status

MOA
90/10 coverage in network
No premiums
Annual deductible of $300
single/$600 family in network
$2,000 lump sum
2% increase to base wage in
first year

No change

Proposed transitional
employee classification
includes competitive wage with
increases, health care, 401k
and a formal path to regular
status

Result
Employees maintain
best health care
coverage in the
industry
Employees maintain
best wages in the
industry

Employees maintain
the best pension
benefit in industry
New classification
with competitive
wages and benefits;
formal path to
industry leading
wages and benefits.

In addition, as a result of the MOA, there is an unprecedented guarantee of no plant closures for at least the next
four years.
As you can see, the MOA is not a plan to simply defer plant closures, as some have suggested. Instead, the MOA
offers an improved cost structure that will allow the business and the plants time to meet the challenges we face on
a competitive footing. We would like nothing better than for the network to not just survive but thrive so that
by the end of the four-year closure moratorium, cereal plant closures might not be necessary.
Our Commitment to you and your Community
Again, this MOA is not about closing plants it is about preserving jobs for you and your community. We are proud
of the collective contributions that we have made in Battle Creek, Omaha, Lancaster and Memphis. We are
committed to making every effort to continuing that commitment and this MOA represents the best expression of
that commitment.
We urge you to read carefully the materials included here, to ask questions if there is anything that is unclear and to
ask your union leaders for another opportunity to vote on the proposed MOA. As always, you can visit
kelloggnegotiations.com for more information.
While we firmly believe that we can build a sustainable future for this business, we must take steps now to begin
that process. We must reinvest in the business through innovation and brand building if we hope to sustain it, or
ever turn it around. And if we can achieve the cost savings necessary for reinvestment through means other than
plant closures then we all win.
For all of you and for this company, we are committed to the future of this business and focusing together on
producing the high-quality, nutritious foods that give people a better start to their day.
Sincerely,

Marty Carroll
Senior Vice President, Kellogg North America