John Whitecavage is the Chief Shop Steward at his plant and has worked as a Sanitation Operator at the Hershey plant in Hazleton, PA for over 30 years.
As Chief Shop Steward, he oversees five to six stewards while working on grievances and other issues in the plant. In his role as Sanitation Operator, John does the hard work of keeping the plant clean, at times in confined spaces or under intense heat, to make sure the plant is still safe and clean for both consumers and his fellow workers.
His plant produces some of the most recognizable Hershey holiday products, the preparation for which kicks off at the beginning of summer. “You see Christmas stuff sitting around on the lines [over the summer]. It’s pretty neat.”
The work that John and his fellow plant workers do for the holiday season is critical, and when John sees people celebrating the holidays with Hershey candies he feels good “knowing that what we do every day is creating a safe product for the consumers.”
With 32 years of experience under his belt and a contract ratification this past March, John has one important message he wants to share: “There’s a lot of good workers at Hershey, a lot of good union members that work hard…making American made products…hopefully you know, they appreciate it.”
Making sure to shop union this Holiday season is more important than ever. With anti-union competitors taking up space on store shelves, John says he hopes “people realize” the importance of supporting union plants “and buy from us, not them.”
