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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
RESOLUTION CALLING ON NABISCO AND ITS PARENT COMPANY MONDELĒZ INTERNATIONAL TO CONTINUE ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SOUTH SIDE OF CHICAGO
WHEREAS, Nabisco Biscuit Company is headquartered in Hanover, New Jersey; and owns and operate the world’s largest bakery, with 2,400 employees, at 7300 S. Kedzie Avenue in Chicago’s Southwest Side; and
WHEREAS, in 1993 Nabisco Biscuit Company cited necessary plant updates as the reason for proposing an outsourcing of their plant;
WHEREAS, local authorities responded to Nabisco’s concerns and provided support for the plant expansion;
WHEREAS, since 1993 the Nabisco Biscuit Company has received tax incentives reaching upwards of ninety million dollars; and
WHEREAS, the then Department of Commerce and Community Affairs in the state of Illinois extended an enterprise zone to accommodate Nabisco Biscuit Company in order to receive twenty nine million dollars, over the course of ten years, in tax savings; and
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development established a tax increment financing district to accommodate a plant expansion that resulted in thirty five million dollars in tax savings; and
WHEREAS, Nabisco Biscuit Company’s parent company Mondelēz International announced in July 2015, another plan to outsource jobs to Mexico instead of investing in its iconic Nabisco bakery in Chicago; and
WHEREAS, 600 union workers at the South Side Chicago bakery could lose their jobs as the product lines are sent to Mexico; and
WHEREAS, the union workers at the Chicago Nabisco bakery have been producing high-quality baked goods such as Oreo and Chips Ahoy cookies, and Ritz and Premium crackers for more than 50 years; and
WHEREAS, these hardworking union workers have dedicated decades of their working lives to fuel the company’s financial success; and
WHEREAS, their dedication and commitment to building these iconic brands is being rewarded with callous disregard and the displacement of their jobs to less regulated areas of the world with labor forces that work for poverty wages; and
WHEREAS, state data shows that the number of people employed in Chicago manufacturing jobs shrank by nearly half between 2001 and 2014; and
WHEREAS, manufacturing jobs are needed to provide for adequate income for families, support for public services to keep our communities safe, effective education of our children and the proliferation of additional employment opportunities; and
WHEREAS, a sound economic base tied to good paying jobs is necessary for the extension of every opportunity and service within our communities; and
WHEREAS, the work created by the companies doing business within the confines of Cook County are essential for the well-being of their adjacent communities; and
WHEREAS, Cook County expects corporate partners to make an earnest effort to retain and promote future capital investment in Cook County; and
WHEREAS, through Ordinance 34-230 Cook County has demonstrated a commitment to supporting local businesses that exemplify the need for local businesses to serve as stakeholders in their communities and has established a preference for local businesses.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that any businesses that abandons its commitment to its local community by moving production to low wage countries will be seen as abandoning its relationship with Cook County; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, Cook County strongly encourages Nabisco Biscuit Company/Mondelez International to engage in discussions to find ways to maintain its relationship with the immediate community whilst also maintaining jobs within the County.
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