General Mills announced recently that its Vineland, New jersey location will be closing by the summer of next year. The General Mills/Progresso Plant closure is going to greatly effect the Vineland area-close to 400 jobs will be lost in an already stricken by high unemployment. The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 152, a union that represents the plant, has made sure workers effected by this will be protected. Severance packages have been agreed upon between General Mills executives and union members. “The severance packages include improved pension accruals and a stipulation that General Mills/Progresso will continue to contribute to the workers’ health care trust fund after the plant closes at the end of summer 2017. 
Local 152 represents 270 of the 370 workers at the plant.”, states an article from Laborpress.org. Several sources assure workers that this was not a result of labor costs, but instead was a result of relocating the plant. “We never believed this was a decision made on labor costs,” String said. “And based on numbers we’ve seen, again, I believe that now.”, String says in another article posted in TheDailyJournal.com. The Local 152 is also taking further measures to help its workers, such as setting up job fairs and looking for potential businesses to by the plant.

Please see the links below for sources and more information.

Progresso Facility Officially Leaving Vineland, Taking 370 Jobs With It
It’s Official: Vineland Progresso Plant to Close Next Summer