Reddit vs. Kellogg’s union busting

Submitted by AWL on 14 December, 2021 - 8:59 Author: Wilson Gibbons
Kelloggs strikers

Redditors at r/antiwork have organised to flood the Kellogg’s corporation process for hiring scab labour with bogus applications. Once Kellogg’s had announced its intention to hire scab labour, members created a comprehensive guide for how to create a realistic seeming faux application which quickly became one of the subreddit’s most popular posts. At one stage, the sheer volume of applications caused Kellogg’s website to crash.

Hundreds of workers across four Kellogg’s plants in the US have been on strike for over two months after rejecting a contract negotiated between the company and the union. The contract would have divided workers into two tiers, with those who had been at the company longer getting more favourable conditions than newer employees (around 30% of the workforce).

After workers walked out, the company said it “had no choice’ but “to hire permanent replacement employees in positions vacated by striking workers”.

One TikTok user, Sean Black, has even gone so far as to code a programme which automatically fills out the application form with relevant information, including a CV, making the process even easier. “Not bad for a day’s work,” he said in a video demonstrating the technology. He had previously created a similar piece of code to disrupt Texas anti-abortion activists.

Further threads have compiled lists of Kellogg’s products to boycott and other ways to support the pickets. Workers have expressed their gratitude, calling it a “phenomenal” show of solidarity.

President Biden has stated that he would support the introduction of legislation to ban replacing striking workers with scab labour.

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