Rite Aid workers and supporters turn up heat in battle for affordable

health insurance that all working families need

The ongoing strike at six Rite Aid stores in the Cleveland area inspired the
third in a series of “national action days” at the retail drugstores on April 1.
Hundreds of supporters, including Rite Aid workers, customers, students,
community members, elected officials, union members and activists all rallied
at Rite Aid stores in two dozen cities across the U.S. Each group told the
company to respect workers’ rights and drop plans to overcharge employees
for health insurance. Workers in Cleveland walked off their jobs on March 14
after federal agents charged Rite Aid and 17 company officials with dozens of Strikers in Cleveland have been buoyed
by wide support of their struggle with
federal law violations, including harassment and intimidation. Rite Aid.
Solidarity actions took place in eight states – CA, MA, MI, NJ, NY, OH,
PA, and WA – plus Washington, DC. Once again, United Students
Against Sweatshops (USAS) affiliates were out in force with groups from
Ithaca, NY, Los Angeles, New Brunswick, NJ, Palo Alto, CA, Seattle, State
College, PA, and Washington, DC participating. Jobs with Justice
sponsored actions in Cleveland, Methuen, MA and Bellingham, WA and
UFCW Local 1445 visited Rite Aid stores in MA. UFCW Locals 1360 and
876 did the same in NJ and MI, respectively. The AFL-CIO also has been
supporting Rite Aid workers around the country. Most recently, it sent a
The Montiel family (above) joined a large representative to assist UFCW Local 880 in Cleveland.
rally to kick-off the “pinpoint” boycott of
two Rite Aid stores in San Pedro, CA. The biggest action took place in San Pedro, CA, where hundreds joined Rite
Below: USAS students joined the Seattle Aid workers from the company’s big distribution center in Lancaster, CA to
action, part of dozens across the country. launch a “pinpoint” boycott of two Rite Aid
stores in San Pedro.
Workers are backing the boycott in San Pedro to
support their fellow workers in Cleveland – several
of whom attended the kick-off – and to boost their
own fight for a fair first agreement. San Pedro’s
Rite Aid stores are good targets for the “pinpoint”
boycott because so many union members used to
shop there. Last year, union families spent almost
$2 million for prescriptions at the two stores. The new boycott aims to slash that Many supporters went to the Rite
amount until Rite Aid agrees to stop overcharging workers for health insurance. Aid in downtown Oakland, CA.

For more information about the April 1 National Day of Action and the Rite Aid workers’ campaigns in Cleveland,
Lancaster, CA and elsewhere, please visit the Coalition of Rite Aid Workers website: www.riteaidworkers.net.

Also, please see: Labor Notes article by Jenny Brown: Unions Say ‘Strip the Scripts’ in Rite Aid Disputes.
http://labornotes.org/2011/04/unions-say-strip-scripts-rite-aid-disputes; and

In These Times article by Rand Wilson: Rite Aid Workers’ Strike in Cleveland Sparks Nationwide Protest.
http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/7139/six_store_rite_aid_strike_in_cleveland_sparks_nationwide_protest/
also cross-posted at http://www.jwjblog.org/2011/04/rite-aid-workers-strike-in-cleveland-sparks-nationwide-
protest/