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Dallas Morning NewsBy KAREN ROBINSON-JACOBS / The Dallas Morning News
Labor strife dominated the discussion at the annual meeting of Plano-based Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. early Thursday, as New York-based union organizers decried company plans to cut wages and benefits, even as the soft drink maker posted profits.
Workers at a Mott’s applesauce plant in Williamson, N.Y. have rejected a proposed contract that calls for a $1.50 per hour wage cut, a pension freeze for current employees and elimination of the pension for future employees, according to the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which represents the workers.
The contract, which covers about 300 full-time employees, also cuts employer contributions to the 401K and increases employee contributions toward health care premiums and co-pays—steps many companies across a range of industries have taken as the economy tanked and health care costs soared.
While the contract dispute directly affects less than 2 percent of the company’s workforce of 19,000 – and only 7.5 percent of the unionized workforce – the showdown represents one of the first big labor disputes since the soft drink maker’s 2008 spinoff from its British parent. Candy maker Cadbury Schweppes negotiated the last contract, which expired April 15.
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