The Hightower Report

Mott's Workers Make a Stand

Who'll take a stand for America's founding ethic of the common good? You won't get such leadership from Washington – and damned sure not from those in the corporate suites who are ruthlessly pushing an ethic of uncommon greed, saying to the middle class, "Adios, chumps."

Instead, look to places like Williamson in upstate New York. This is apple country, home to a sprawling Mott's apple processing plant. But the Mott family is long gone – and so is the sense of shared purpose that had unified owners and workers.

In 2008, Mott's became a subsidiary of Dr Pepper Snapple Group, a giant Texas conglomerate that also owns 7Up, Hawaiian Punch, and dozens of other brands. DPS, as it's known, is doing very well, having banked a record profit of a half-billion dollars last year. But its honchos apparently missed that basic kindergarten lesson about sharing, so they introduced themselves to the area by eliminating the workers' annual summer picnic, the children's Christmas party, and other community-building touches.

Then, in March, the new bosses abruptly demanded pay cuts (averaging about $3,000 per worker), slashed pensions, and hiked employee costs for health care. Why? Because they asserted that Mott's 300 workers were paid more than others in the area and should simply lower their standard of living accordingly. This from a corporation that paid its CEO $6.5 million last year! Adding insult to injury, the plant manager called workers "a commodity like soybeans" that can easily be replaced. Take the cuts – or else, demanded DPS.

The workers chose "else," going on a strike that's now in its fourth month. This is not just about them, but about what America will be. It's a courageous stand for the middle class and our country's commitment to economic justice. To stand with them, go to www.ufcw.org.

It's Raining Overdraft Fees

High-Low-Jack is a poker game that I've played in the past, but America's biggest banks have twisted it into a flim-flam in which the deck is deliberately stacked against their own customers.

The key to this scam is the fee that bankers assess when your account is overdrawn. Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and others are raking in billions from these fees, and lately they've been dealing a joker called high-to-low check clearing that takes even more from unsuspecting customers. It works like this: Let's say you have $200 in your checking account, and you write checks for 10 small purchases, totaling $200. Then, at the end of the month, you pay your utility bill of $200. Oops – there's nothing left in your account to cover that, so you owe a $35 overdraft fee for your mistake.

But your bank statement arrives a week later, showing $350 in overdraft fees! What happened? A little fast shuffling by your friendly megabank.

Rather than processing your checks in the order in which you wrote them, the bank cleared your highest-dollar check first, even though you wrote it last. By cashing the $200 check for your utility bill, the bank totally drained your account. This meant that each of those 10 small checks you wrote earlier was cleverly shifted into overdraft status, forcing you to pay a fee on each of them – thus stinging you for $350 rather than the $35 you really owed.

As one victim said of this finagling, "It's crooked."

At least one federal judge agrees, having ordered Wells Fargo to repay $203 million to California customers who were jacked around by the high-to-low scheme, referring to it as "gouging and profiteering."

Yes, but highly lucrative! Wells Fargo says it will continue to play the high-to-low gouging game while it appeals the judge's decision.