Tell Mott's You Want Your Apple Sauce Without Classism

Apple sauce: (noun) 1. a puree of stewed apples, usually sweetened or spiced with sugar, cinnamon, and — if produced by Mott's — overt classism

I love my apple sauce. Who could dislike that gooey blend of sweet and tart flavors, especially when the word "apple" — the posterchild for health and longevity — is right there at the beginning of the phrase? Sugar and a Methuselah-like life span? Count me in.

But not all brands of apple sauce deserve my patronage. The wealthy executives of Mott's, America's self-proclaimed "leading producer of healthy apple sauce," have recently demonstrated their outright contempt for fair wages by insisting on downsizing employee pay at Mott's Williamson, New York, plant by a full $1.50 an hour — not to mention eliminating pensions for future employees, freezing pensions for current employees, decreasing employer contributions to 401(k)s by 20 percent, and increasing employee contributions toward health care premiums and co-pays.

This wage cut and benefits reduction comes just one year after Mott's reaped a record $555 million in profit.

The icing on the cake? Executives from Dr. Pepper Snapple, Mott's corporate owner, justified the slash in compensation by telling workers to think of themselves as a "commodity," like "soybeans or oil," whose value had dropped. Pay no attention to the booming profit margin behind the company curtain. Tell Mott's you won't be buying its products until it reinstates full pay for striking employees.

With the support of the United Food and Commerical Workers International Union (UFCW), 300 Mott's workers from the Williamson plant have gone on strike, demanding a reinstatement of their wages and benefits. If you support fair wages, stand with them by boycotting Mott's products. (Can't go without your summer apple sauce? Here's an easy recipe you can make at home in the meantime.)

Want to make life even tougher for Dr. Pepper Snapple execs? Follow these three steps:

1. Print out these labels (pdf) calling out Dr. Pepper Snapple's classist policies and stick the labels on Mott's products in your supermarket.
2. Save this image to your computer and use it as your profile image on Facebook.
3. Sign our petition telling Dr. Pepper Snapple executives to reinstate full pay and benefits for striking Mott's workers.

America's the land of hard workers, not greedy CEOs. Help show Dr. Pepper Snapple who's really boss — take action now!

Photo Credit: UFCW's No Bad Apples Campaign