Reps back Oreo bakers vs. shutdown
Will Philly jobs go to Mexico because China won't buy U.S. cookies?
Reacting to the threatened closing of the Mondelez (formerly Kraft) plant that makes Oreos, Ritz crackers and other baked snacks at Byberry and Roosevelt in Northeast Phila., state Reps. Brendan F. Boyle and Kevin J. Boyle and state Sen.Mike Stack plan to join John Lazar, President of Bakery, Tabaco, and Confectionary Workers' Union Local 492, at a 12:30 pm rally "to bring awareness" to the possible loss of 300+ jobs. U.S. Rep. and would-be Gov. Allyson Schwartz, D-Pa., is supposed to show up too.
In a statement, Boyle said the plant has stood "at the heart of Northeast Philadelphia for decades." Citing Mondelez's statements about its market troubles, Boyle said the likelihood Philly jobs will be sent to Mexico, because the Chinese aren't buying U.S. cookies, "should alarm residents across the region."