Oreo boycott

{{Short description|2015–2016 boycott of food products}} '''Oreo boycott''' (also known as the '''Nabisco boycott''' and '''Mondelez boycott''') is a boycott of the Oreo cookie and other Nabisco-manufactured products, including Chips Ahoy! and Cheese Nips. The boycott was prompted by the Mondelez company's decision to close its American factories and move production to Mexico.<ref name=inquirer/>

==Background== In 2014, Mondelez generated more than $34 billion in revenue and <ref name="northeast" /> CEO Irene Rosenfeld received $21 million a year in compensation.<ref name="inquirer" /> The pressure to cut American jobs in Mondelez was linked to Bill Ackman, a hedge-fund billionaire who purchased a 7.5 percent stake in Mondelez, and is believed to have pushed for cost cutting.<ref name="inquirer" />

In 2015, Mondelez International, the parent company of Nabisco, announced that it was laying off workers at factories in Chicago and Philadelphia.<ref name="ct.announcement" /> Production was moved to Salinas, Mexico. Mondelez decided not to make $120 million in upgrades to their Chicago facility and announced that half of the 1,200 workers at the factory would be laid off.<ref name="ct.announcement" />

Before announcing the closure and transfer to Mexico, Mondelez negotiated with unions and the local and federal government.<ref name=ct.announcement/> Mondelez asked the worker's unions to take pay cuts to make up the $46 million difference between production in the US and Mexico. According to Mondelez, the three unions representing the workers made demands that could not be satisfied.<ref name=ct.announcement/>

The Chicago factory, opened in the 1950s, was previously the largest bakery in the United States and employed over 4,000 workers at its peak.<ref name=ct.announcement/> The Chicago factory was considered critical to Mondelez's success because of the unique workforce and strategic Midwest location. Earlier in 2015, Mondelez closed a factory in Philadelphia which was 60 years old and led to the layoff of 350 employees.<ref name=northeast/><ref name=delish/>

==Boycott== The announcement of the boycott was made by elected officials in Philadelphia and union activists in Chicago. In a July 9 speech, Congressman Brendan Boyle announced the boycott with a poster of an Oreo cookie with a red circle and line through it, accompanied by the message, "Say no to Oreo."<ref name=inquirer /><ref name=northeast /> After highlighting the American layoffs, Boyle also sarcastically congratulated CEO Rosenfeld on her pay increase.<ref name=northeast />

In Chicago, veteran activist Marilyn Katz drew attention to the boycott by writing that she was going to stop "dunking".<ref name=ct.boycott /><ref name=itt.katz /> Fellow activists announced that they would buy similar cookies from Trader Joe's or Hydrox rather than Oreo.<ref name=ct.boycott /> Others, while supporting the boycott, highlighted the importance of international solidarity.<ref name=itt.chow />

In August 2015, Presidential candidate Donald Trump announced his support for the boycott, expressing his disappointment because Mondelez was an "American company" and promising never to eat another Oreo.<ref name=dailybeast /><ref>{{Cite web|last=McQuaid|first=John|title=Donald Trump Takes On The Mexican Oreo Menace|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnmcquaid/2015/08/28/donald-trump-takes-on-the-mexican-oreo-menace/|access-date=2021-02-05|website=Forbes|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Bryan|first=Bob|title=From Oreo to HBO: All the companies and countries Donald Trump has boycotted|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-boycott-list-apple-oreos-2016-2|access-date=2021-02-05|website=Business Insider}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-08-26|title='I'm Never Eating Oreos Again'|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/08/26/trump-repeats-that-he-ll-never-eat-oreos-again-citing-production-shift-to-mexico_n_8041224.html|access-date=2021-02-05|website=HuffPost Canada|language=en}}</ref> Competitor Hydrox moved to capitalize on the boycott by printing an American flag on their packaging.<ref name=paste />

In 2016, after production had started in Mexico, the AFL–CIO encouraged the boycott and published consumer guidance to help identify which Mondelez products were made in Mexico.<ref name=afl />

===Protest=== Protests accompanying the boycott specifically targeted Mondelez CEO Irene Rosenfeld.<ref name=ct.protest /> As workers received layoff notices, Rosenfeld was confronted with crowds outside public appearances, led by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers' International Union. Protestors also appeared outside Rosenfeld's suburban Chicago home.<ref name=foxnews />

==See also== * 2021 Nabisco strike

==References== {{reflist|30em|refs=

<ref name=afl>{{cite news|url=http://wp.unionlabel.org/2016/05/04/afl-cio-endorsement-of-bctgms-boycott-of-made-in-mexico-mondelez-international-snack-foods/|title=AFL-CIO endorsement of BCTGM's boycott of "Made in Mexico" Mondelez International snack foods|author=Staff|date=May 4, 2016|accessdate=May 4, 2016|publisher=AFL-CIO|archive-date=December 6, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241206192357/http://wp.unionlabel.org/2016/05/04/afl-cio-endorsement-of-bctgms-boycott-of-made-in-mexico-mondelez-international-snack-foods/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name=delish>{{cite news|url=http://www.delish.com/food-news/a43504/nabisco-factories-mexico/|title=Nabisco Has Begun Moving Its Factories to Mexico |author=Audry Bruno|date=August 14, 2015|accessdate=July 9, 2015|publisher=delish.com}}</ref>

<ref name=ct.announcement>{{cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-nabisco-mondelez-plant-0730-biz-20150729-story.html|title=Mondelez to cut Chicago jobs, send some work to Mexico|author=Corilyn Shropshire|date=July 29, 2015|accessdate=April 9, 2016|work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref>

<ref name=ct.boycott>{{cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/columnists/ct-oreos-brotman-talk-0810-20150806-column.html|title=Chicago activist begins Oreo boycott to protest Mondelez layoff plans|author=Barbara Brotman|date=August 9, 2015|accessdate=April 9, 2016|work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref>

<ref name=ct.protest>{{cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-oreo-bakery-protests-0311-biz-20160310-story.html|title=Oreo bakery workers protest job cuts|author=Greg Trotter|date=March 6, 2016|accessdate=April 9, 2016|work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref>

<ref name=dailybeast>{{cite news|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/18/trump-s-oreo-boycott.html|title=Donald Trump Won't Eat Oreos Because They're Too Mexican Now|author=Michael Daly|date=August 8, 2015|accessdate=April 9, 2016|work=Daily Beast}}</ref>

<ref name=foxnews>{{cite news|url=http://www.fox32chicago.com/news/local/114681665-story|title=Nabisco workers protest outside CEO's suburban home|author=Mike Flannery|date=March 30, 2016|accessdate=April 9, 2016|publisher=Fox News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404071419/http://www.fox32chicago.com/news/local/114681665-story|archive-date=April 4, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name=inquirer>{{cite news|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-phillydeals/Oreo-maker-faces-billionaire-squeeze-labor-boycott-calls.html|title=Oreo sees support, but also backlash and boycott, for gay pride rainbow cookie |author=Joseph N. DiStefano |date= August 12, 2015|accessdate=July 9, 2015|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer}}</ref>

<ref name=itt.chow>{{cite news|url=http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/18710/nabisco_moved_u.s._600_jobs_to_mexico._but_the_answer_isnt_an_oreos_boycott|title=Our Response to the Offshoring of 600 Oreos Jobs Should Be International Solidarity, Not a Boycott|author=Toby Chow |date= December 17, 2015|accessdate=May 6, 2016|work=In These Times}}</ref>

<ref name=itt.katz>{{cite news|url=http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/18259/oreos-union-busting|title=As Nabisco Ships 600 Jobs Out of Chicago to Mexico, Maybe It's Time To Give Up Oreos|author=Marilyn Katz|date= July 9, 2015|accessdate=May 6, 2016|work=In These Times}}</ref>

<ref name=northeast>{{cite news|url=http://www.northeasttimes.com/2015/jul/15/boyle-calls-nabisco-boycott/|title=Boyle calls for Nabisco boycott|author=Northeast Times Staff|date=July 15, 2015|accessdate=July 15, 2015|work=Northeast Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604110304/http://www.northeasttimes.com/2015/jul/15/boyle-calls-nabisco-boycott/|archive-date=June 4, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name=paste>{{cite news|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/10/trump-dumped-the-oreo-for-this-madeinamerica-cooki.html|title=Trump Dumped the Oreo for this #MadeinAmerica Cookie, the Hydrox|author=Monica Uszerowicz |date=November 14, 2016 |accessdate=November 14, 2016 |work=Paste}}</ref>

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Oreo Boycott}} Category:2015 in the United States Category:2016 in the United States Category:Consumer boycotts Category:Boycotts Category:Protest tactics Category:2015 protests Category:2016 protests Category:Protests in the United States Boycott