Briefs for Thursday

Nabisco workers in five states are on strike over changes to work schedules and overtime being sought by the maker of Oreos, Ritz Crackers, Chips Ahoy! and other popular snack foods.

The walkout began Aug. 10 at a biscuit bakery in Portland, and has since swelled to about 1,000 workers in Aurora, Colo., Richmond, Chicago and, as of Monday, a distribution center in Norcross, Ga.

They are represented by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union, which earlier this summer was involved a 19-day strike at a Frito-Lay plant in Kansas.

Nabisco’s Chicago-based parent, Mondelez International, continues to produce snacks with nonunion staff even though three of its four U.S. bakeries have been affected by the strike.

Unionized workers in all five states are governed by a single contract that expired in May.

Union leaders say Nabisco is trying to squeeze more hours out of its staff while paying less overtime, even as some workers are taking 16-hour shifts to help meet a pandemic-fueled surge in snack food sales.

They also are raising concerns over two recent factory closures in Georgia and New Jersey, which the union says is part of a broader campaign to move low-wage work to Mexico.

And they’re calling on the company to restore their pensions, which was supplanted by a 401(k) plan three years ago.

Workers “are telling Nabisco to put an end to the outsourcing of jobs to Mexico and get off the ridiculous demand for contract concessions at a time when the company is making record profits,” BCTGM president Anthony Shelton said in a statement.

Stocks close higher Wednesday

Stocks on Wall Street closed with modest gains Wednesday, driving the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to all-time highs for the second day in a row.

Financial and energy companies led the way higher among stocks in the S&P 500. The benchmark index rose 0.2%, marking its fifth straight gain.

A rise in bond yields, which allows lenders to charge higher interest rates on loans, helped push bank stocks higher. Health care and technology companies were among the laggards.

The market’s latest gains came as earnings season continues to wind down and investors wait to hear from the Federal Reserve the next couple of days, when central bank officials hold their annual symposium.

Wall Street is keen to gain new insight on the Fed’s view of the economy and what action, if any, it is considering taking to tackle rising inflation.

“Earnings are rising, inflation is moderate and interest rates are low, and that typically presents a favorable backdrop,” said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.The S&P 500 added 9.96 points to 4,496.19. The index is on pace for a 1.2% weekly gain after closing out last week with its first weekly loss in three weeks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 39.24 points, or 0.1%, to 35,405.50.

The Nasdaq gained 22.06 points, or 0.2%, to 15,041.86. The major indexes bounced back from modest declines in the early going.

From wire reports

Small company stocks continued to do better than the broader market. The Russell 2000 index picked up 8.36 points, or 0.4%, to 2,239.27.