Abuse of foreign workers at Hershey (Chocolate Factory) PA - Laying off 500 local workers!

[1776Forever]

Chang.org email:

Exploited Students Strike Against Hershey

.......Hundreds of students from Ghana, Turkey, Mongolia, and other countries each paid up to $6,000 for the privilege to come to America in a cultural exchange program this summer. Now Hershey's pays them around $8 an hour for their warehouse work, minus costs of housing -- leaving many students broke, tired, and disillusioned.

Why would Hershey's want to use foreign exchange students as cheap, manual labor? According to the National Guestworker Alliance, a group helping the students, it's about profit. Hershey's is laying off 500 American workers in the next year. The company's strategy is apparently paying off: Hershey's pocketed $130 million in just the last three months.

The foreign exchange students are asking Hershey to refund the thousands of dollars the students paid to come to America. And that's not all: The students also want Hershey's to convert their low-paying positions to living wage jobs for local residents in Pennsylvania.

http://www.change.org/petitions/hershey-stop-exploiting-student-guestworkers

...........

Sign the petition at link! http://www.change.org/

This is terrible! Hard to believe but I know it is just one more way our country has changed! I stopped buying a lot of Hershey products because they were made in Mexico and now this! I just bought some Hershey candy bars yesterday that said they are still made in Hershey, PA and now I found out about this kind exploitation of these students! So sad!!! This is happening all over the US! Disney does it in Florida and other big Corporations are doing this more and more! It is to get around paying minimum wage and benefits - I don't know how they do it but they do it! :grr:

[valerief]

1. Time to dump Hershey out the Hershey Highway! nt

[KamaAina]

2. The cocoa comes from Ghana. Why shouldn't the sweatshop labor?

:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[CleanGreenFuture]

3. We're a third-world nation wearing a first-world, thread-bare jacket..

[1776Forever]

4. Yes and it is getting very thread-bare! Soon there will be no one to buy their chocolate here.

They don't mind that too much it seems with a BILLION each in China and India waiting to purchase it. My husband was born near Hershey PA and he said if the Old Man Hershey knew what has happened to his business he would be very disappointed! He was a great man of his time and now all the Corporations are just turning into greedy Ebenezer Scrooge's with no feelings or loyalty to their country or their workers! So Sad!!!

[Pooka Fey]

5. Petition signed and K&R

[1776Forever]

7. Thank you! I think anything we can do to let these Corps know we care is good! n/t

[Demit]

6. Signed it. Thanks for linking!

[1776Forever]

8. Thank you! It is We The People who must let them know we do care about their actions! n/t

[1776Forever]

9. More information on this at National Guestworker Alliance - link..

http://www.guestworkeralliance.org/

JUSTICE at HERSHEY’S

Send the students a solidarity message at Justice-at-Hersheys (at) guestworkeralliance.org

Follow students at @NGAdignity and #JusticeatHersheys on Twitter!

More at link!

And here at the NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/18/us/18immig.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all?src=tp

Foreign Students in Work Visa Program Stage Walkout at Plant
By JULIA PRESTON
Published: August 17, 2011

..“There is no cultural exchange, none, none,” said Zhao Huijiao, a 20-year-old undergraduate in international relations from Dalian, China. “It is just work, work faster, work.”

Each summer, the State Department brings many thousands of foreign students to the United States on the international work-travel program, with visas that are known as J-1. Over the years, the program has successfully given university students from distant countries a chance to be immersed in everyday America and to make lasting friends...

John Fleming, a State Department spokesman, said officials were aware of the students’ protest and had sent staff members to Hershey, Pa., where the candy company is based, to investigate. “It is our job to ensure that all J-1 visa holders are accorded their rights under all provisions of the Summer Work Travel program,” Mr. Fleming said.

[Divine Discontent]

10. isnt this shameful!

so they concocted a great way to claim they are keeping jobs in the USA! no more Hershey's for me until they give the money back to those young people and stop bringing foreign workers over here for cheap labor. AMAZING!

I wonder if they learned this from the theme Parks?