Union, Mondelez reach tentative agreement amid strike

HENRICO, Va. (AP) — A tentative contract agreement reached between snack company Mondelez and striking union workers could end a walkout that began last month. The company and the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union issued statements Wednesday announcing a tentative deal, but The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports neither would discuss the terms. Anthony Shelton, the union’s international president, says local officers will present the agreement to workers in coming days and they’ll vote on it. Mondelez and the union have been negotiating a new four-year contract since the old one expired at the end of May. It covers union employees at six sites, including a plant in Henrico, Virginia, that makes foods like Oreo cookies, Ritz crackers and Chips Ahoy! cookies.