The Militant (logo) 
   Vol.66/No.22            June 3, 2002 
 
 
500 rally in Pennsylvania to
back strike at Hershey Foods
(front page)
 
BY BERNIE SENTER  
HERSHEY, Pennsylvania--Five hundred striking workers at Hershey Food Corp. and their supporters attended a spirited rally May 16 as part of their fight against a cost-cutting antiunion drive by the company. When you drive into this town the sign says, "Welcome to the Sweetest Place on Earth." But the sign on stage at the rally read, "The Greediest Place on Earth."

The 2,700 members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Local 464 have been on strike against the nation’s largest candy manufacturer since April 26. One of the main strike issues is the company’s intention to double the amount workers pay on their health care premiums.

The rally, which coincided with the reopening of negotiations, was addressed by leaders of the strike, representatives from other local unions, and politicians. A small contingent of steelworkers from the Bethlehem plant in Steelton, Pennsylvania, came to the rally after leafleting their factory gate the day before. Representatives from the teachers union, unionized government workers, United Food and Commercial Workers, and others pledged their support for the strike.

"For me, I’m single," said John Long, Jr., a machine operator with Hershey for 12 years. "It doesn’t bother me as much," referring to the proposed increased medical costs. "I try to look at the big picture and think about the impact on those with families and my other co-workers."

Deb Porter told the Militant, "If you don’t take a stand now, you’ll lose a little bit every time."

After the rally, union members organized a car caravan past many of the 23 picket lines in the town of Hershey staffed 24 hours a day by the strikers. With horns blaring, workers drove down Chocolate Avenue where street lamps are shaped like Hershey Kisses candy; past ChocolateWorld and Hersheypark, the Disneyland-like amusement facilities next to one of the factories; by the Milton Hershey School for orphans set up by the company founder and philanthropist; to the Hershey Cemetery where he is buried. The rally concluded at Milton Hershey’s grave site where speakers blasted the current bosses’ confrontational approach with the union.

After years of flat profits and anemic stock performance, Hershey hired new bosses headed by Richard Lenny. The board of directors hoped that Lenny’s brand of cost cutting, attacks on the workers, and downsizing would improve the bottom line. They needed a departure from the one-big-happy-family routine.

Workers at the plant have the same kind of attitude toward Lenny as did strikers at Eastern Airlines and other companies where the top boss had led an assault on the workforce. When the building trades unions donated a giant inflatable rat as the strike started, the strikers dubbed it "Lenny."

Hershey has been waging a war for public support by running frequent ads in area newspapers. They claim they can do nothing about skyrocketing medical costs except pass the expenses onto the workers. The company points out that 10,000 nonunion Hershey employees "accepted" the increase in medical costs. The union notes that these workers didn’t "accept" anything; the increases were imposed on them.

The company hopes that the fact that their workers get paid more than many area workers, starting at around $15 per hour, would isolate the strikers. But this has not been the case and many strikers noted how pleasantly surprised they are at the support they have received.

In Hummelstown where the rally was held some workers commented that although they know union members at Hershey are paid more than they are, they want the striking workers to win because the health care issue is so crucial today for all workers and they hope the union can hold the line. This was echoed by some workers at the Hershey’s plant in Hazleton where the contract runs out next year.

"For every one person who drives by the picket line with their thumbs down," mentioned Long, "15 have their thumbs up, honk their horns, and yell ‘Give ‘em hell.’"

Strikers have pointed to numerous gestures of solidarity. Workers from an area donut shop have brought donuts to the picket lines. Construction workers have helped build a site where the union will set up a food bank. Retirees have joined in the picketing. A local gas station refuses to sell Hershey chocolates. Some doctors have provided their services for free.

Dominick Divittore, who went through the last strike in 1980 noted how much more unity there is this time around. The rally breathed life into the point made by Local 464 business agent Bruce Hummel who said, "The smell of solidarity is stronger than the smell of chocolate."  
 
 
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