Hershey workers vote on labor deal that would cut up to 600 jobs from company’s Pa. hometown

Pa. Hershey workers vote on proposed labor deal

HERSHEY, Pa. — A union that represents workers at the Hershey chocolate company’s hometown plants on Friday night expected to determine the outcome of a vote on a labor deal that could cut hundreds of jobs there.

Employees began voting Friday morning on a restructuring agreement that would expand the West Hershey plant while leaving just administrative offices in the original factory built by company founder Milton Hershey.

The voting closed at 7 p.m., and counting was expected to finish around 9 p.m., said Dennis Bomberger, business manager of the Chocolate Workers Local 464.

The Hershey Co., whose sweet treats include Almond Joy, Kit Kat, Milk Duds and Reese’s peanut butter cups, could cut 500 to 600 jobs under the plan, which it says is necessary to remain competitive. Hershey has warned that rejecting the deal could mean even more job losses in the town, a short drive east of the state capital, Harrisburg.

The 105-year-old plant, at 19 E. Chocolate Ave., has an unwieldy layout, low ceilings and narrow column spacing that make it inefficient and troublesome to upgrade, a company spokesman said.

Union negotiators and company officials reached a tentative agreement on Tuesday. The deal must be approved by a majority of the approximately 1,600 members who work at both factories.

The company has told union and state officials that it is willing to spend $200 million on the new plant, and it says the newer West Hershey factory would become one of the world’s largest and most advanced chocolate plants, employing 1,100 people, up from about 500.

If the union rejects the plan, the company is threatening to move the expansion and jobs elsewhere. The company also has plants in Virginia, Tennessee and Illinois.