Striking Mott's workers get boost from union president

Posted at: 07/07/2010 5:32 PM | Updated at: 07/08/2010 2:21 AM

They say they're the victims of corporate greed. Their company says it's offering a generous contract.

Mott's workers have been striking at the company's applesauce plant in Williamson for nearly seven weeks now.

Workers say they still hope to get back to the bargaining table with the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, the parent company of Mott's, but it's not that easy.

"They're not interested," Linda Van De Viver, a Motts employee of 10 years, said.

On Wednesday, they got a big boost with the support of the International President of the United Food and Commercial Workers union, Joe Hansen.

"Every member of the UFCW in the United States and Canada is going to throw their full support behind you," Hansen said.

He says the 1.4 million members of UFCW will reach out to the public and that he plans to reach out to federal policy makers in a meeting at the White House on Thursday.

Hansen says the UFCW will work "to raise money and get support, but also to get the story out that Mott's is a bad company right now."

"Regardless of who might throw their weight one way or another, we're going to continue our course," Dr. Pepper-Snapple Group Regional Senior Vice-President Lain Hancock said. 

Hancock says the company has given workers its best and final offer. The contract includes cutting wages by $1.50 an hour and having employees pay more for health insurance. He says the company has a commitment to shareholders to post a profit and that the wages are competitive with those of other manufacturing jobs in the Rochester and Finger Lakes area.
 
"I believe that the offer that we provided our employees was generous," he said.
 
But some workers say, they are willing to wait-- and fight-- for a better offer.

"It's tough," Michael Killenbeck admitted, "You've got to make some adjustments and finances are tight. But in the long run, we have to do it."

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