The parent company of Mott's known for its apple sauce and apple juice, is now peddling a new product - CORPORATE GREED.

Basic Facts:

Mott's/Dr. Pepper Snapple is demanding: $1.50 per hour wage cut for all employees - pension elimination for future employees - pension freeze for current employees - 20 percent decrease in employer contributions to the 401K-increased employee contributuions toward health care premiums and co-pays.

Mott's is looking to exploit the economic climate to maximize their profits at the expense of their workers,  while the three highest paid executives at DPS doubled their pay between 2007 and 2009.

There is no economic necessity for what the company is proposing to do.  DPS's stock has rocketed 28% since the most recent earnings announcement in February, 2010.

What's happening to the workers in Williamson is a symptom of the systemic corporate greed underming the American dream and destroying middle class jobs.

We are a country of workers, NOT CEO'S.  We cannot afford to allow the leadership of profitable companies to reward themselves while punishing the workers who keep the company successful and our economy going.

Take a stand for working families and log on to: NoBadApples.org

Please think of how Mott's is hurting our families, and consider making a different choice when you are shopping for any of these Dr. Pepper Snapple Group products:

Mott's Apple Sauce - Hawaiian Punch - Margaritaville - Mr. and Mrs. T Products - Welch's Grape Juice (64oz) - Rose's Lime Juice - Snapple Cans - Mott's Fruitsations - Mott's Garden Cocktail - ReaLemon/ReaLime - Holland House - Clamato

Thank you for your support!!

A Letter To The Membership From UFCW International President Joseph Hanson

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

Corporate Greed in America has a new poster child – the Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) and its President and Chief Executive Officer Larry Young.

Last Year, DPS made $555 million in net profit. At the end of February when DPS released its earnings report, its stock jumped 28 percent. It is leading the industry, and has been profitable for the last five years (with 2009 being the most profitable). In the last 3 years alone, the CEO’s salary has more than doubled and Executives have received bonuses and increases.

Yet, when DPS entered contract negotiations this year with RWDSU/UFCW Local 220 at its Mott’s facility in Williamson, New York, the company demanded outrageous wage cuts and other concessions. The company admitted there was not financial need for the cuts and concessions. Instead, the company wanted to take advantage of high unemployment in the area. The company told the union that the workers should think of themselves as a “commodity’ like “soybeans or oil”. When the supply goes up, the price should go down. And regardless of how profitable and productive the workers have been – and how profitable the company has been - the workers should be paid less.

The company engaged in bargaining tactics that violated Federal Labor Law and forced the union to file unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board. On May 23, 2010, DPS illegally implemented its “last, best and final offer”, even though the parties were not at a bargaining impasse – a $1.50 an hour across the board wage cut, elimination of the pension for all new hires and freeze of the pension plan for all current employees, a 20 percent cut in the company match to the 401K plan, amongst other concessionary changes to the contract. As a result, and that same day, the 305 members of RWDSU/UFCW Local 220 felt they had no choice but to go on strike to protest the company’s unfair labor practices and takeaways. Some of the striking workers have worked at Mott’s for over 40 years. The company has refused to negotiate ever since.

The workers at Mott’s in Williamson are fighting for a fair and equitable contract. And at the same time, they are standing up to corporate greed that knows no limits. If a company that is doing as well as DPS is able to get away with this in Williamson, what is to stop any other employer - including those that are not doing as well - from trying to do the same to their employees? Stand with the courageous members of RWDSU/UFCW Local 220 as they stand up to corporate greed. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. Workers are not “soybeans”.

We are asking for your support by:

 Publicize this struggle within your local or organization. (See workers website at: www.Mottsworkers.com). I am asking you to participate in mobilizing the public and our members via work being coordinated by the International.

 Write or fax a letter to:

Mr. Larry Young
President and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Pepper Snapple Group
5301 Legacy Drive
Plano, TX 75024
(972) 673-7976 (fax)
Please forward a copy of your letter or fax to my attention.

 Contribute to the “RWDSU Mott’s Hardship Fund” by sending your contribution to:

RWDSU/UFCW
30 East 29th Street
New York, NY 10016

The striking Mott’s workers are taking a stand not just for themselves, but for all of us, and we must stand together.

In Solidarity,

Joseph T. Hansen
International President

Please Boycott: Dr. Pepper, 7 Up, Hawaiian Punch, Sunkist Soda, A & W Root Beer, Canada Dry, Orange Crush, Snapple, Motts Apple Juice, Schweppes Ginger Ale, Yaahoo and Nantucket Nectar.

John J Sweeney, the nation’s top union official, often complains that he was invited just once to the White House during George W. Bush’s eight years in office — and even that was at the Vatican’s behest during a visit by Pope Benedict.

EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE IS THE ONLY OPTION

Left to right: Tim Melia, President Dave Fleming, Speaker Pelosi, Jim Riley & Peter Derouen (Local 791)

Speaker Pelosi in Rhode Island

Just the other day I and many other labor folks were lamenting the fact that the liberal blogosphere has zero time for the labor movement these days—apart, of course, from thanking us for bringing them the weekend, declaring that we’re no longer relevant, and then quickly moving on to a sexier progressive topic.

A small group of Americans have made it their mission to buy American-made products whenever possible. Some do it for safety reasons. For others, it's a political statement.  Click Here  for the rest of the story.

No Justice for U. S. Workers at the National Labor Relations Board