U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, an Austin Democrat, has waded into the controversy over an ongoing strike at a New York manufacturing plant owned by Plano, Texas-based Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc.
Doggett is one of eight members of Congress from Texas who signed a letter asking Larry Young, president and CEO of Dr. Pepper Snapple, to return to the bargaining table with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union over a strike at a company-owned Mott’s plant in Williamson, N.Y., near Rochester.
The letter urges Young to take a “responsible, cooperative approach we value so much in Texas” in his company’s dealings with labor issues.
More than 300 full-time manufacturing workers at the plant went on strike May 23 as a result of what the union calls “unfair labor practices committed by the corporation in their efforts to impose drastic and unprecedented wage and benefit cuts on their workforce.”
At the Mott's plant, Dr Pepper Snapple Group (NYSE: DPS) has instituted a $1.50-an-hour wage cut for all workers, a pension elimination for future workers, a pension freeze for current workers, a 20 percent decrease in 401(k) contributions, and higher employee contributions toward health care premiums and co-pays, according to the union.
The company posted record profit of $555 million in fiscal 2009.
The congressional letter says: “These workers have been a critical part in the success that both Mott’s and Dr Pepper Snapple have enjoyed over the years. They are an integral part of their communities, and your plant provides good jobs to them in this time of economic crisis.”
Chris Barnes, a spokesman for Dr Pepper Snapple, insisted the beverage giant has negotiated in good faith over a contract that expired in mid-April, offering workers a compensation package in line with local industry norms, according to ABC News.
Aside from Doggett, members of Congress from Texas who signed the letter are U.S. Reps. Gene Greene, Sheila Jackson Lee, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Al Green, Ruben Hinojosa, Solomon Ortiz and Silvestre Reyes.
For more information, about the Mott’s strike, visit www.mottsworkers.org.
The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union is affiliated with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.
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