VINELAND, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Brian String, president of UFCW Local 152, denounced this morning’s sudden closure of the General Mills/Progresso plant in Vineland, N.J.

The closure came without warning, leaving 300 union members without jobs within two months of ratifying a strong four-year labor agreement with the company.

“People here are angry and I don’t blame them,” String said after talking with workers following a company-mandated meeting at the plant.

President String said he, along with U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, New Jersey State Sen. Jeff Van Drew and Vineland Mayor Ruben Bermudez, intends to meet with General Mills executives to discuss keeping the plant open.

“We will remedy this situation by any means necessary,” he said. “Our union will use all the resources at its disposal to protect these members and provide assistance at this difficult time.”

“During four months of bargaining, the company never hinted that this plant might close,” String continued. “Its negotiators never asked for concessions that our members surely would have granted to keep the plant open.”

Noting that the union has negotiated many contracts at the plant over several decades, String added: “This is a cruel trick to play on people who have been loyal to their company for many decades.”

Whether the plant’s closure is the result of corporate restructuring or a sale of the site to a new owner, “this development is a rude shock to Vineland and other distressed communities in Cumberland County,” he said.