Biden "deeply troubled" by Kellogg plans to replace striking employees

• "The prolonged work stoppage has left us no choice but to continue executing the next phase of our contingency plan including hiring replacement employees in positions vacated by striking workers," Chris Hood, the President of Kellogg North America, said in a statement.

Catch up quick: Nearly 1,400 Kellogg workers at all of the company's U.S. cereal plants went on strike starting Oct. 5 to seek a "fair contract" for workers.

• Kellogg plants haven't operated at full capacity due to the strikes.
• In November, the company warned that its annual profits could take a hit.

What he's saying: "Collective bargaining is an essential tool to protect the rights of workers that should be free from threats and intimidation from employers," Biden said in a statement.

• "That’s why I am deeply troubled by reports of Kellogg’s plans to permanently replace striking workers from the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International during their ongoing collective bargaining negotiations," he added.
• "Permanently replacing striking workers is an existential attack on the union and its members’ jobs and livelihoods," Biden said. "I have long opposed permanent striker replacements and I strongly support legislation that would ban that practice."