Hershey Strike
The Hershey strike of 2002 was the first strike of Hershey workers since 1980. During the strike the Company and the Union had strengths and weaknesses that worked for and against them. Some of the Company's strengths were that they have nineteen other plants operating and they could move production to them, they also only had two plants in Hershey PA. Some weaknesses of the company were that the public was mainly on the side of the workers, and the workers were extremely united. Some strengths of the union were their dedication to stick together and their public support. Their weaknesses were that the company had other plants and the union members had more to lose by striking than the company did. By talking to Mr. Feaser, the Chocolate Workers Local 464 Business Manager, as well as by researching the situation, I have gained an understanding of why the strike in Hershey happened and how it ended. Milton Hershey was born in 1857 in the town of Derry Church Pennsylvania. He only attended school until fourth grade. At the age of eighteen, he opened his own candy shop in Philadelphia. The business failed after six years. In 1886, he started a candy making business called the Lancaster Caramel Company. In 1900
On April 16th, the union voted on whether or not they would strike. Over 86% of the workers who voted, voted to go on strike. On April 26th 2002, the workers officially went out on strike. Over 2,700 workers in the two factories were striking. It was the largest strike in Hershey's ninety seven year history. Workers picketed at about twenty three locations, twenty four hours a day. Not one striker crossed the picket line to go into the factory and work. The striking workers received financial support and food donations from workers at the non-union Reese's plant, which is also owned by Hershey. During the negotiations and the strike, the company did not publicly threaten to move production to their other plants and close the two Hershey plants. In a worst case scenario that is what eventually could have happened. I do not think the company ever expected the situation to get bad enough where they would do that. They probably realized that the public supported the workers and to close the plant would be Public Relations suicide. Today Hershey operates nineteen manufacturing plants. They employ roughly 15,000 employees worldwide. Hershey had 2001 sales of approximately $4.5 billion. The majority of sales are within North America with international sales only making up about five percent of all total sales. Their major brands include, Hershey's, Reese's, Kit Kat, Hershey Kisses, Twizzlers, Jolly Rancher, Bubble Yum, and many others. Also during the negotiations and the strike, the workers stuck together and were not afraid to stand their ground on the issues that mattered to them. They knew that the general public supported them and their efforts to keep what they had and to refuse to pay more for their Healthcare. The fact that they were out on strike for about six weeks shows that they were not willing to give in easily. During the fifth week of the strike, the company came to the union and agreed to come back to the same Healthca
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Approximate Word count = 1330
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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