Rite Aid workers in Southern California overwhelmingly voted to okay a potential strike.
Meanwhile, Rite Aid employees in SoCal who belong to UFCW local unions voted to authorize a strike. Together, those unions represent about 3,500 Rite Aid workers in the Sunshine State.
"In July, we approached Rite Aid negotiations seeking a fair contract. Instead, we've faced disrespect, inadequate proposals disregarding our worth and the company's wealth, and numerous labor violations. It's clear our employer isn't working with us in good faith,” the UFCW Rite Aid bargaining team declared in a statement. "Rite Aid has engaged in multiple unfair labor practices, including offering incentives to employees not to sign petitions, bargaining directly with employees and bypassing the union in an attempt to convince employees to waive the company’s lunch penalty in violation of our contract and unilaterally implementing a bonus in an attempt to boost vaccination rates.”
Other labor issues have roiled large pharmacy chains. In early Oct., reports surfaced that CVS Health plans to eliminate about 2,900 jobs as it seeks to rein in costs. Rite Aid, which recently emerged from bankruptcy, closed stores in Michigan and Ohio this summer, leaving most workers there out of a job. Separately, Walgreens announced this month that it anticipates closing 1,200 stores, starting in 2025.
With its CVS Pharmacy subsidiary, Woonsocket, R.I.-based CVS Health has 300,000-plus colleagues – including more than 40,000 physicians, pharmacists, nurses and nurse practitioners. The company is No. 5 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. Philadelphia-based Rite Aid operates approximately 1,700 retail pharmacy locations across 16 states and is No. 26 on The PG 100.