The Southern Piedmonet Central Labor Council successfully participated in the National Day of Action to support laid off Nabisco employees on thursday, November 18th. Members hand billed four big box stores in Charlotte and four big box stores in SAlisbury to help get the word out about Nabisco products to shoppers.
Last year Nabisco and corporate Mondelez International decided to send production of Oreos and other popular Nabisco snacks from one of its five union bakeries in the United States across the border into Mexico. They did this for no other reason than they could exploit low wage, unprotected labor in Mexico, viciously cut their production costs, and then send those Oreos, Ritz Crackers, and other snacks back to the US to be sold for exactly the same price. Mondelez/Nabisco made the decision to lay off 600 union bakers in Chicago and send those jobs to Salinas, Mexico, where workers are paid reportedly close to $1 per hour with no benefits other than a bus ride to work.
"People were really receptive to the message," said volunteer Danielle Hilton, who organized the Salisbury actions. "They didn't know anything about it, they were thankful for the info and they said they would look for the Made in America on their labels."