It's not just all those pre-teens sweating in the African sun that have come to know just how bitter Hershey's cocoa can be, the company, with the help of their...er...our State Department, sometimes imports its victims.
Today,hundreds of student guestworkers from around the world were joined by unemployed American workers and labor leaders in a factory sit-in at the Hershey’s Chocolate Company packing plant in Pennsylvania.
The students paid $3,000-$6,000 each to come to the U.S. this summer for what they thought would be a cultural exchange program through the State Department’s J-1 visa. Instead,they found themselves packing chocolates at the Hershey’s plant in deeply exploitative conditions. After automatic weekly deductions for rent in company housing and other expenses,they net between $40 and $140 per week for 40 hours of work. The workers talked about their struggle and asked for our support at the JwJ national conference.
http://www.jwjblog.org/2011/08/student-guestworkers-sit-in-at-hershey-factory-your-help-needed/
