


The International Foundation expects to draw some 5,000 participants to its 53rd Annual Employee Benefits conference, held Nov. 3-7 at the Anaheim Convention Center. Most attendees are involved in administering union health care and pension trusts. The labor coalition sponsoring the reception brings together 1199SEIU (Service Employees International Union), the nation's largest health care union; ILWU, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, and UFCW, (United Food and Commercial Workers).
Peter Olney, of the ILWU told conference attendees, "The workers at Rite Aid's distribution center came to us wanting to organize in March 2006. What followed from Rite Aid was something you'd expect from Wal-Mart, not from a company that's 40 percent unionized."
In the past two months, the Canadian and US media have reported that the new CEO of Jean Coutu Group Inc., who in June sold 1,800 U.S. Brooks and Eckerd stores to Rite Aid, is urging shareholders to be patient after earnings were eroded by $24.8 million from its interest in Rite Aid Corp. Jean Coutu stock has dropped by almost 20 per cent in the last three months, and Rite Aid is struggling to integrate the Canadian chain's former U.S. stores.
Many are concerned that at a time when industry analysts and institutional stockholders are watching Rite Aid closely to see whether it will be able to successfully pull off the integration of the Eckerd/Brooks chain, Rite Aid has made a choice to fight with workers and their unions and in doing so, risk losing business and spoiling the integration of the operations of the drug store chains.
Furthermore, several Rite Aid business practices have been questionable and the company has settled millions of dollars in lawsuits.
- Rite Aid is using the Eckerd/Brooks acquisition to create a second-tier, non-union workforce that will replace union workers. This will cost jobs and depress wages in the affected areas.
- Over the last 10 years, Rite Aid settled more than a half-dozen lawsuits alleging consumer fraud. The charges included selling expired goods, charging higher than the advertised prices at the checkout line and overcharging the elderly and uninsured.
- The most recent consumer fraud suit was filed a year ago by the state of New Jersey.
- The company paid $6.7 million to settle a class action by workers who alleged that Rite Aid forced their pension fund to buy overvalued company stock.
- The company paid $5.6 million to the government and $1.4 million to 28 states to settle charges of Medicaid fraud.
(prnewswire.com)