Hershey Chocolate in Hershey PA

Hershey’s original plant on Chocolate Avenue in Hershey PA is more than a century old and has problems that hamper production, like an unwieldy layout, low ceilings and narrow column spacing that impede efficiency according to a June, 2010 MSNBC article.

Hershey is considering a move to a new location, but the move first must be approved by by a majority of its approximately 1,600 unionized workers at the two Hershey chocolate plants. Hershey is an American company whose employees are not discouraged from being members of a union.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37453880/

According to Pennlive.com, June 4, 2010, “The Hershey Co. ’s unionized production workers opted for a leaner work force in a modernized and expanded plant, rather than clinging to a century-old factory and watching a $200 million company investment go to another state.

In voting 1,317 to 95 for a seven-year contract on Friday, members of Chocolate Workers Local 464 all but ensured that at least 450 of their own won’t have jobs by 2012. That’s when the transition from the plant at 19 E. Chocolate Ave. to the expanded West Hershey facility is expected to be complete.”

At the same time, 1,100 union workers would have jobs in the modernized plant. An additional 150 workers would be on call as "permanent extras" — fill-ins for plant workers on vacation or out sick, union officials said. The negotiated provision reduced the potential job losses from as many as 600, but employees who opt to be extras won’t be eligible for severance payouts.

Finally, the company’s planned investment to upgrade the West Hershey facility should be enough to keep the nation’s No. 2 candymaker, which also operates a Reese’s plant in Derry Twp., in Hershey for the long term.

It was enough for most union workers to vote yes.”

Read PennLive.com article

You can still visit Hershey’s Chocolate World and the town made famous by Milton S. Hershey, where  streets have HERSHEY’S KISSES-shaped street lights and the air is filled with the smell of chocolate.

A socially conscientious company for over 100 years, the Hershey Company has made a positive contribution in the communities where they live, work and do business. The Milton Hershey School , established by Milton S. Hershey, the company’s founder, in 1909, provides education, housing, and medical care at no cost to children in social and financial need. The School is administered by the Hershey Trust Company, Hershey’s largest shareholder, making the students of Milton Hershey School direct beneficiaries of Hershey’s success.

http://www.thehersheycompany.com/

Get the recipe to Hershey’s Pizza Cookie at: http://www.hersheys.com/