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National Day of Action Targets Rite Aid Execs for Disrespecting Employees
by Craig Merrilees, International Longshore and Warehouse Union
Rite Aid drugstore executives who are disrespecting employees across the country will be the target of nationwide solidarity actions in California and other states on Wednesday, December 15th.
During the past few years, Rite Aid executives made bad business decisions that caused serious financial problems at the country’s third-largest drugstore chain. But instead of working with employees to move forward together in challenging times, Rite Aid execs are trying to make the company's loyal and hard-working employees pay for management's mistakes.
While Rite Aid just increased compensation for the company’s CEO to $4.5 million…
• In Cleveland OH, Rite Aid management imposed a concessionary contract on retail store workers beginning December 1st that will drastically increase the cost of health insurance for employees and their families
• In Lancaster CA, management is also trying to shift the burden of rising health costs to workers;
• In Rome NY, management is closing union facilities where workers have a real voice on the job and shifting work to non-union facilities;
• At other Rite Aid locations across the country, management is not living up to its commitments and is refusing to bargain fairly with workers.
Management’s disrespect has moved Rite Aid workers to lead actions at stores from the following unions: United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776 (PA), UFCW Local 880 (OH); and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 26 (CA).
With support from the AFL-CIO, United Students Against Sweatshops and Jobs with Justice, Rite Aid workers are calling on union supporters to join with community and student allies to participate in a National Day of Action on December 15th.
Dozens are stores will be targeted on the 15th – we’ll keep you posted as locations are confirmed in your area.
See the flyer for the action in Oakland, CA at noon on Wednesday, December 15th.
For more info about a Rite Aid action near you, contact:
• ILWU, Peter Olney, (415) 775-0533, peter.olney@ilwu.org
• UFCW, Chris Snyder, UFCW Local 1776, (800) 635-6994 x 308, csnyder@ufcw1776.org; or Tom Robertson, UFCW Local 880, (216) 241-5930, local880@ufcwlocal880.com
• AFL-CIO, Rand Wilson, (617) 803-0799, rwilson@aflcio.org
• United Students Against Sweatshops, Teresa Cheng, teresa@usas.org
• Jobs with Justice, Treston Faulkner, (202) 316-0239, treston@jwj.org
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Posted on 12/02/2010 • Permalink
Do the right and humane thing. Rite Aid employees built the company. They are the frontline in dealing with customers and are the face of Rite Aid.
The employees did not create Rite Aid’s financial duress-they should not be expected to carry a disproportinate share of the remedy.
They are people with families and expenses, just like the upper echelon of Rite Aid management, except that their lifesyle is often meager and they don’t have the luxuries and perks that management takes for granted.
Henry Ford understood that paying a decent living wage and respecting employees was good for all and one cannot argue with the success that his belief fostered.
Again, I implore you to do the right thing!
at 9:22 am on Mon, Dec 13, 2010Posted by roberto Uranga