Labor & Employment Law

This Halloween, Go with Union-Made Treats

By Mike Hall

When the hordes of Halloween trick-or-treaters?from tiny Lady Gagas to younger-than-Justin-Biebers, along with the traditional pirates, witches and ghosts?come knocking on your door, you can treat them to union-made Halloween candy. It?s the good stuff, too.

Our friends at the Northwest Labor Press checked in with the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM) union to find out which candy carried union cards.

Products from Tootsie Roll Industries, including the classic Tootsie Roll and Tootsie Pop along with Junior Mints, Andes mints and Dubble Bubble bubble gum, are made by BCTGM Local 1 in Chicago.

NECCO?which stands for New England Confectionery Co., in case you?ve wondered all these years?makes multicolored wafers, Clark bars, Mary Janes Original peanut butter chews, Thin Mints and more. Members of BCTGM Local 348 in Cambridge, Mass., turn out these Halloween favorites. Local 348 also produces more than 8 billion Sweethearts-brand Conversation Hearts annually, making it the top-selling candy for Valentine’s Day.

In Oakland, Calif., members of BCTGM Local 125 at Herman Goelitz Candy Co. turn out Jelly Belly jelly beans, the ubiquitous Halloween candy corn and other seasonal goodies.

For those special, top-of-the-line, best-costume trick-or-treaters?or for mom and dad after the doorbell stops ringing and the kids are over the sugar rush?there?s Ghirardelli Chocolate Co. Those high-end, tasty San Francisco treats also are made by BCTGM Local 125 members.

Many Hershey (BCTGM Local 404 in Hershey, Pa.) and Nestle (several locals at different facilities) products are union made. But surprisingly, even some all-American candy bars are being outsourced, BCTGM Corrina Christensen told the Northwest Labor Press.

Both Hershey and Nestle are making candy in low-wage nations, including Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Argentina and Jamaica, and importing those products to the United States. But imported food, including candy, must carry a country of origin label?so check for that.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on October 25, 2010 (boomark / email).