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Title: Student workers protest at Hershey's, say their life not so sweet
Source:
LA Times
URL Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nat ... at-hersheys-packing-plant.html
Published: Aug 18, 2011
Author: Deborah Netburn
Post Date: 2011-08-23 10:38:11 by Fred Mertz
Keywords: None
Views: 35974
Comments: 70
For 400 foreign students, working at a Hershey's chocolate packing plant in Palmyra, Pa., may be less sweet than it sounds. The National Guestworker Alliance filed a complaint Wednesday on behalf of 400 international students who had apparently paid $3,000 to $6,000 to participate in a U.S.-certified cultural exchange program. The complaint, sent to the U.S. Department of State, says the students were exploited by Hershey Co. and that the company takes unfair advantage of the program. The students also launched a protest at the plant. Those protests were continuing Thursday, with the students, labor leaders and Pennsylvania workers who have joined the fight rallying in downtown Hershey, according to an email alert the alliance sent to The Times The organization, which helped organize the protests, has dubbed their efforts the Justice at Hershey's Campaign. The students, who hail from countries such as China, Turkey, Ukraine, Moldova, Mongolia, Ghana and Thailand, were recruited at their universities to participate in the U.S. State Department J-1 visa program, described on a U.S. State Department website as an Exchange Visitor Program. The program leads to a three-month visa that allows students to work in the United States while learning about American culture and improving their English skills. The goal of the program, according to the State Department's site, is to foster "global understanding through educational and cultural exchange." Instead, says a representative of the National Guestworker Alliance, students who wound up at the Hershey's plant were living in "economic captivity," forced to pay for mandatory company housing that left them with $40 to $140 a week for 40 hours of work. "They were desperate and feeling isolated," the organization's communications director, Stephen Boykewich, said in an interview with The Times. According to the complaint, conveniently made available to media, when the students complained about the violations of U.S. law, "they were threatened with deportation and other long term immigration consequences to remain quiet about the violations." Hershey's did not respond to a Los Angeles Times' request for comment, but company officials told the Associated Press that the warehouse is run by a subcontractor and is expected to treat workers fairly. The AP also reports that a spokeswoman for the subcontractor says another company handles its guest worker program. Of course, perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that working at a chocolate factory might not be all sweet dreams and chocolate Kisses. Weren’t the Oompa-Loompas kind of indentured servants?
Poster Comment: Slave labor at its best for higher corporate profits.
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#1. To: Fred Mertz (#0)
I saw this last week in the WaPo...an overt expose on why the middle class is declining...
America...My Kind Of Place... "I truly am not that concerned about [bin Laden]..." "THE MILITIA IS COMING!!! THE MILITIA IS COMING!!!" I lurk to see if someone other than Myst or Pookie posts anything...
I just caught this story this morning. I've read other details from other sources and the only good news is that these foreign students finally did something about their indentured servitude conditions. It is a very revealing and disturbing story and disgusts me. That's why I posted it.
Way to teach foreign students about American culture. More truth in the lesson than was intended.
"...all of the equations in neoclassical economics are rubbish. The differential equations describe nothing. Economics is not about mathematics, it is about the human being." Sandeep Jaitly
Ha. I'm sure the working conditions in their home countries is so much better than those in the USA.
So they should be thankful that they were lured here under false pretense and then treated like shit?
America...My Kind Of Place... "I truly am not that concerned about [bin Laden]..." "THE MILITIA IS COMING!!! THE MILITIA IS COMING!!!" I lurk to see if someone other than Myst or Pookie posts anything...
Are you actually defending their treatment? They paid from $3,000 - $6,000 (IIRC) for their 3 month visas for the 'privilege' of cultural exchange and work. They obviously learned some key English phrases - hurry up, work faster, etc.
Who says they were treated like shit? I read they worked a 40 hour week had their room & board deducted from their paychecks. The horror...
...and went to soup kitchens for meals.
Paid to whom? AFAIK, the US doesn't 'sell' visas.
The article. Did you read it? According to the article...no one is responsible for supervising the working conditions of these students...neat trick, eh?
America...My Kind Of Place... "I truly am not that concerned about [bin Laden]..." "THE MILITIA IS COMING!!! THE MILITIA IS COMING!!!" I lurk to see if someone other than Myst or Pookie posts anything...
WASHINGTON -- Three Pennsylvania labor leaders were detained by police Wednesday during a protest of working conditions for foreign students at a Hershey distribution center in Palmyra, Pa. Labor activists said that the students had to pay between $3,000 and $6,000 to come to the United States on J-1 travel visas for the summer, and that after deductions for housing they’ve been earning a mere $40 to $140 in exchange for working 40-hour weeks. Stephen Boykewich, a spokesman for the National Guestworker Alliance, an advocacy group for guest workers in the U.S., said that the students were recruited in their home countries, mostly in Eastern Europe and Asia, and were offered the opportunity to visit America and improve their English. Boykewich said that roughly 400 students were working at the plant and that the "vast majority" of them have walked out. Workers at the facility in Palmyra package Hershey’s candies to be distributed to stores. Kirk Saville, a Hershey’s spokesman, said the foreign workers were not directly employed by the candy giant. “Beyond that, I can say that the Hershey Company expects all of its vendors to treat its employees fairly and equitably,” Saville said. Saville referred The Huffington Post to Exel, Inc., the third-party logistics company that oversees the distribution center. A spokeswoman for that company said that the student workers were not directly employed by Exel, either. “We’re not trying to pass the buck,” Exel spokeswoman Lynn Anderson said. “It’s a bit of a layered situation.”
America...My Kind Of Place... "I truly am not that concerned about [bin Laden]..." "THE MILITIA IS COMING!!! THE MILITIA IS COMING!!!" I lurk to see if someone other than Myst or Pookie posts anything...
Where did you read about their board expenses? I saw the company rent deductions but not the other.
The article says no such thing. The real question is why, with unemployment in double digits, a dubious program like this exists in the first place. I'm sure there are plenty of American locals willing to do shift work at Hershey without having to import spoiled little shits from other countries.
So Hershey can lay off US workers, pay slave wages and boost profits. Pretty neat trick, eh?
Imagine the damage done to the image of America when these people go back? These are university students overseas - the leading lights of their nations.
With the economy still in the dumper -- maybe permanently? -- and full-time jobs becoming as scarce as rain during a drought, huge percentages of Americans have had their (misplaced) faith in the American dream shaken, the upper-middle-class consumerist lifestyle is exposed as a mirage for anybody who plays by the rules. Capitalism and the America that embraced it as a way of life is now and forever more a failure. It does me good to know that the generation that voted in Reagan and his ideology will see their America die from that ideology before their very own eyes and knowing they had a hand in its destruction.
Who is going to force the private business to hire Americans? The Govt? You are now all in favor of govt intervention in the business affairs of a corporation? Conservatives don't even understand their own ideology - especially when confronted with facts on how it fails in the real world.
With the economy still in the dumper -- maybe permanently? -- and full-time jobs becoming as scarce as rain during a drought, huge percentages of Americans have had their (misplaced) faith in the American dream shaken, the upper-middle-class consumerist lifestyle is exposed as a mirage for anybody who plays by the rules. Capitalism and the America that embraced it as a way of life is now and forever more a failure. It does me good to know that the generation that voted in Reagan and his ideology will see their America die from that ideology before their very own eyes and knowing they had a hand in its destruction.
You haven't established any portion of that statement Fred... nor have you answered the question regarding who these kids paid 3-6 thousand dollars to for the chance to visit the United States.
Isn't this in the same state that had private prisons for profit where judges were bribed to sentence kids so the private prison can make money? USA! USA! USA!
With the economy still in the dumper -- maybe permanently? -- and full-time jobs becoming as scarce as rain during a drought, huge percentages of Americans have had their (misplaced) faith in the American dream shaken, the upper-middle-class consumerist lifestyle is exposed as a mirage for anybody who plays by the rules. Capitalism and the America that embraced it as a way of life is now and forever more a failure. It does me good to know that the generation that voted in Reagan and his ideology will see their America die from that ideology before their very own eyes and knowing they had a hand in its destruction.
Instead, says a representative of the National Guestworker Alliance, students who wound up at the Hershey's plant were living in "economic captivity," forced to pay for mandatory company housing that left them with $40 to $140 a week for 40 hours of work. "They were desperate and feeling isolated," the organization's communications director, Stephen Boykewich, said in an interview with The Times. According to the complaint, conveniently made available to media, when the students complained about the violations of U.S. law, "they were threatened with deportation and other long term immigration consequences to remain quiet about the violations." --supra The real question is why, with unemployment in double digits, a dubious program like this exists in the first place. Corporations used to import labor in the 19th century. In the 20th century they exported the work. So, its "existence" in the US has been around since the industrial revolution.
America...My Kind Of Place... "I truly am not that concerned about [bin Laden]..." "THE MILITIA IS COMING!!! THE MILITIA IS COMING!!!" I lurk to see if someone other than Myst or Pookie posts anything...
Don't be an idiot..it was the goo-goos at the State Dept. who created this worker exchange program. It needs to be shut down.
That is roughly the cost of the visa fees plus round trip air tickets. I would hate to see what your SAT score was with that sort of comprehension, thunderbird.
With the economy still in the dumper -- maybe permanently? -- and full-time jobs becoming as scarce as rain during a drought, huge percentages of Americans have had their (misplaced) faith in the American dream shaken, the upper-middle-class consumerist lifestyle is exposed as a mirage for anybody who plays by the rules. Capitalism and the America that embraced it as a way of life is now and forever more a failure. It does me good to know that the generation that voted in Reagan and his ideology will see their America die from that ideology before their very own eyes and knowing they had a hand in its destruction.
It was the capitalist corporate pigs that exploited young foreign workers against the needs of American unemployed. And there is nothing in the hands off ideology of the conservative movement that can correct this. Your own ideology precludes any govt correction in favor of American workers = aka parasites according to FOX news talking heads.
With the economy still in the dumper -- maybe permanently? -- and full-time jobs becoming as scarce as rain during a drought, huge percentages of Americans have had their (misplaced) faith in the American dream shaken, the upper-middle-class consumerist lifestyle is exposed as a mirage for anybody who plays by the rules. Capitalism and the America that embraced it as a way of life is now and forever more a failure. It does me good to know that the generation that voted in Reagan and his ideology will see their America die from that ideology before their very own eyes and knowing they had a hand in its destruction.
Thanks for correcting my earlier misstatement above. Hey, I'm human.
America...My Kind Of Place... "I truly am not that concerned about [bin Laden]..." "THE MILITIA IS COMING!!! THE MILITIA IS COMING!!!" I lurk to see if someone other than Myst or Pookie posts anything...
Just checked roundtrip airfare from Eastern Europe and China to the US and it doesn't come close to costing $3-6K. Try again Einstein.
Excerpt:
At the behest of corporate lobbyists.
Once again..the student worker exchange program is a US State Dept. contrivance which needs to be shut down. Do you disagree?
We should not be employing anyone, in this country, who is not a US citizen. It is the lawyers who are trying to figure out how to make money off of these students.
The J1 visa service fees include * Issuance of the DS-2019 within two weeks of your complete application documents, your payment receipt, and after having received confirmation of your internship/training from your host company Not included: * Embassy fee for interview at the U.S. embassy ($140) http://www.intraxinternships.com...ternship-fees#visaservice
"...all of the equations in neoclassical economics are rubbish. The differential equations describe nothing. Economics is not about mathematics, it is about the human being." Sandeep Jaitly
If you go online you will find that this is all part of the Visa process, paying for lawyers to usher through the visa process, etc. You can find it all online.
With the economy still in the dumper -- maybe permanently? -- and full-time jobs becoming as scarce as rain during a drought, huge percentages of Americans have had their (misplaced) faith in the American dream shaken, the upper-middle-class consumerist lifestyle is exposed as a mirage for anybody who plays by the rules. Capitalism and the America that embraced it as a way of life is now and forever more a failure. It does me good to know that the generation that voted in Reagan and his ideology will see their America die from that ideology before their very own eyes and knowing they had a hand in its destruction.
Thank you!
There is no student worker exchange program per say. The program is designed to allow students to visit the USA and once here they can work while studying and exploring our culture. The corporations exploited this process to enslave foreign workers.
With the economy still in the dumper -- maybe permanently? -- and full-time jobs becoming as scarce as rain during a drought, huge percentages of Americans have had their (misplaced) faith in the American dream shaken, the upper-middle-class consumerist lifestyle is exposed as a mirage for anybody who plays by the rules. Capitalism and the America that embraced it as a way of life is now and forever more a failure. It does me good to know that the generation that voted in Reagan and his ideology will see their America die from that ideology before their very own eyes and knowing they had a hand in its destruction.
Which may be true.. but clearly the program is taking jobs away from Americans. Lets shut the program down and find out who squeals.
State merely facilitates the exchange...
America...My Kind Of Place... "I truly am not that concerned about [bin Laden]..." "THE MILITIA IS COMING!!! THE MILITIA IS COMING!!!" I lurk to see if someone other than Myst or Pookie posts anything...
Exchange programs are not a bad idea. What is a bad idea is private companies exploiting what should be an opportunity for the students, not a cheap labor boon for corporations.
"...all of the equations in neoclassical economics are rubbish. The differential equations describe nothing. Economics is not about mathematics, it is about the human being." Sandeep Jaitly
Lets shut the program down and find out who squeals. Would the program be taking jobs away from Americans if hiring companies were required to pay American wages?
"...all of the equations in neoclassical economics are rubbish. The differential equations describe nothing. Economics is not about mathematics, it is about the human being." Sandeep Jaitly
A program that takes jobs away from Americans is a bad idea.
We don't need to import foreigners to do shift work at the chocolate plant. Period. Frankly I'm surprised the union locals siding with the students haven't figured this out yet.
If conservatives supported minimum wage rights for all and unionized work places, these students would be making the same wages as everyone else or not be employed. But conservatives are not for such things so here we are....
With the economy still in the dumper -- maybe permanently? -- and full-time jobs becoming as scarce as rain during a drought, huge percentages of Americans have had their (misplaced) faith in the American dream shaken, the upper-middle-class consumerist lifestyle is exposed as a mirage for anybody who plays by the rules. Capitalism and the America that embraced it as a way of life is now and forever more a failure. It does me good to know that the generation that voted in Reagan and his ideology will see their America die from that ideology before their very own eyes and knowing they had a hand in its destruction.
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--GW Bush
--Sarah Palin's version of "The Midnight Ride of Paul revere"
#2. To: war (#1)
#3. To: Fred Mertz (#0)
Slave labor at its best for higher corporate profits.
#4. To: Fred Mertz (#0)
The students, who hail from countries such as China, Turkey, Ukraine, Moldova, Mongolia, Ghana and Thailand, were recruited at their universities to participate in the U.S. State Department J-1 visa program, described on a U.S. State Department website as an Exchange Visitor Program. The program leads to a three-month visa that allows students to work in the United States while learning about American culture and improving their English skills.
#5. To: Thunderbird (#4)
--GW Bush
--Sarah Palin's version of "The Midnight Ride of Paul revere"
#6. To: Thunderbird (#4)
#7. To: war (#5)
#8. To: Thunderbird (#7)
#9. To: Fred Mertz (#6)
They paid from $3,000 - $6,000 (IIRC) for their 3 month visas for the 'privilege' of cultural exchange and work.
#10. To: Thunderbird (#7)
Who says they were treated like shit?
--GW Bush
--Sarah Palin's version of "The Midnight Ride of Paul revere"
#11. To: Thunderbird (#9)
Paid to whom?
--GW Bush
--Sarah Palin's version of "The Midnight Ride of Paul revere"
#12. To: Thunderbird (#7)
...had their room & board deducted from their paychecks.
#13. To: war (#10)
According to the article...no one is responsible for supervising the working conditions of these students...neat trick, eh?
#14. To: Thunderbird (#13)
The real question is why, with unemployment in double digits, a dubious program like this exists in the first place.
#15. To: Fred Mertz, war, lucysmom, Thunderbird (#0)
Way to teach foreign students about American culture. More truth in the lesson than was intended.
#16. To: Thunderbird, war (#13)
I'm sure there are plenty of American locals willing to do shift work at Hershey without having to import spoiled little shits from other countries.
#17. To: Fred Mertz (#14)
So Hershey can lay off US workers, pay slave wages and boost profits.
#18. To: Fred Mertz, war, lucysmom, Thunderbird (#15)
#19. To: Thunderbird (#13)
(Edited)
The article says no such thing.
--GW Bush
--Sarah Palin's version of "The Midnight Ride of Paul revere"
#20. To: Godwinson (#16)
Who is going to force the private business to hire Americans? The Govt? You are now all in favor of govt intervention in the business affairs of a corporation?
#21. To: Fred Mertz, Thunderbird (#17)
You haven't established any portion of that statement Fred... nor have you answered the question regarding who these kids paid 3-6 thousand dollars to for the chance to visit the United States.
#22. To: Thunderbird (#20)
(Edited)
#23. To: Godwinson (#21)
(Edited)
That is roughly the cost of the visa fees plus round trip air tickets.
#24. To: Thunderbird (#17)
You haven't established any portion of that statement Fred...
--GW Bush
--Sarah Palin's version of "The Midnight Ride of Paul revere"
#25. To: Godwinson (#21)
That is roughly the cost of the visa fees plus round trip air tickets.
#26. To: Godwinson (#22)
Also Friday, some of the student-workers participated in demonstrations in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to bring attention to their complaints, while others began meeting with a team of labor law experts from colleges and universities who were probing the dispute.
The U.S. Department of State said Friday its investigators would be arriving in Hershey on Monday.
More than 100,000 college students come to the U.S. annually on J-1 visas for a mixture of work and exposure to the country's culture, but an investigation by The Associated Press last year described how some ended up stuck in extremely low-paying jobs and living in crowded, unsanitary conditions.
#27. To: Thunderbird (#20)
Don't be an idiot..it was the goo-goos at the State Dept. who created this worker exchange program. It needs to be shut down.
#28. To: Godwinson (#22)
It was the capitalist corporate pigs that exploited young foreign workers against the needs of American unemployed. And there is nothing in the hands off ideology of the conservative movement that can correct this. Your own ideology precludes any govt correction in favor of American workers = aka parasites according to FOX news talking heads.
#29. To: Fred Mertz (#0)
#30. To: Godwinson, Fred Mertz, Thunderbird (#21)
That is roughly the cost of the visa fees plus round trip air tickets.
* Direct FedEx Shipment of the DS-2019 to your home address
* Medical Insurance for the duration of your internship or training (optional insurance during grace period after internship/training)
* Student Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) fee ($180) paid by Intrax to the U.S. government
* Administrative costs associated with the processing of the DS-2019
* Pre-departure advisory services
* 24-hour emergency support during your stay in the USA
* If applicable: On-site visit ($195)
* Airfare, housing, personal expenses etc.
#31. To: Thunderbird (#25)
#32. To: lucysmom (#30)
#33. To: Thunderbird (#28)
Once again..the student worker exchange program is a US State Dept. contrivance which needs to be shut down. Do you disagree?
#34. To: mininggold (#27)
At the behest of corporate lobbyists.
#35. To: Thunderbird (#28)
Once again..the student worker exchange program is a US State Dept. contrivance which needs to be shut down. Do you disagree?
--GW Bush
--Sarah Palin's version of "The Midnight Ride of Paul revere"
#36. To: Thunderbird (#28)
Once again..the student worker exchange program is a US State Dept. contrivance which needs to be shut down. Do you disagree?
#37. To: Thunderbird (#34)
Which may be true.. but clearly the program is taking jobs away from Americans.
#38. To: lucysmom (#36)
Exchange programs are not a bad idea.
#39. To: lucysmom (#37)
Would the program be taking jobs away from Americans if hiring companies were required to pay American wages?
#40. To: lucysmom, Thunderbird, go65 (#37)
Would the program be taking jobs away from Americans if hiring companies were required to pay American wages?
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