Corporate greed has a new poster child

The very profitable food & beverage company, the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) and its President and CEO, Larry Young, apparently are trying to win the race for greediest corporation.

DPS made $555 million in net profit for 2009, has profited each of the last five years, and leads the industry in profitability. In just three years on the job, the CEO’s salary has more than doubled while other executives have taken bonuses and pay increases of their own.

How has DPS rewarded the workers at its Mott’s facility in Williamson, NY for its stellar success? By demanding outrageous wage cuts and other concessions, says RWDSU/UFCW Local 220:

“The company admitted there was no 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.”

Company is breaking the law

On May 23, 2010, DPS imposed its “last, best and final offer” even though the parties had not reached a bargaining impasse. Workers were hit with a $1.50 an hour across the board wage cut, elimination of their pension, and a 20% cut in the company’s 401k match. The union has filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board, and the employees have gone out on strike to protest their treatment at the hands of DPS.

You can show solidarity with Mott’s workers, who are asking for our support:

• Follow them on Facebook and learn more at www.mottsworkers.com.
• Publicize this struggle within your own union and personal networks.
• Write or fax a letter to DPS President & CEO Larry Young at:
  5301 Legacy Drive
  Plano, TX 75024
  (972) 673-7976 fax (send a copy to 212-779-2809)
• Contribute to the “RDWSU Mott’s Hardship Fund”
  RWDSU/UFCW
  30 E. 29th Street
  New York, NY 10016

The Dr. Pepper Snapple Group is doing what it thinks it can get away with – breaking the law and treating its workers no better than commodities. Don’t let them get away with it. Mott’s workers are striking to take a stand, not just for themselves, but for all of us. The NC State AFL-CIO is proud to stand with them. We hope you will, too.