Rite Aid Negotiations Update – November 2023
and in support of UFCW 8-Golden State members’ bargaining efforts.
In our four-year legal battle with Rite Aid, UFCW 8-Golden State has won our case at every step and on every company appeal.
After Rite Aid unjustly implemented its medical plan in December 2019, we filed charges against the company, and an independent administrative law judge ruled in our favor. The company appealed to the regional NLRB office and lost. Rite Aid then appealed again to the Washington D.C. Circuit NLRB and lost its second appeal.
Rite Aid then filed a challenge against the NLRB and lost the case again. Earlier this year, Rite Aid filed a final appeal against the NLRB. On Friday, November 3, 2023, a three-judge panel of the Washington D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals again ruled unanimously against Rite Aid, sending the decision back to the regional office of the NLRB to determine a remedy for the case.
Rite Aid has wasted untold millions in legal fees fighting this lost cause. These resources could have been better spent on both a resolution for employees and shareholder earnings.
We had some recent discussions with Rite Aid; however, the company’s latest offer does not adequately fund members’ pensions. This, along with other company proposals, is entirely unacceptable and a slap in the face to the dedicated long-term members who are keeping Rite Aid afloat.
Member actions, up to and including strike vote authorization, may be necessary if meaningful progress is not made at the bargaining table.
Additional meetings are scheduled with Rite Aid this month. We will keep members informed as new details become available.
“We are hopeful Rite Aid can emerge from this bankruptcy and continue to grow as a Union employer,” said Jacques Loveall, UFCW 8-Golden State President. “We believe this can happen, but only if they treat their workers with the dignity and respect they deserve.”
Continue standing together, remaining united in support of your Union, and together we will prove Solidarity Works!
About RiteAidWorkers.org
As negotiations continue with Rite Aid for a new contract covering its workers, this site was created to help inform Rite Aid workers and the public about the company's proposals.
Plain and simple, management wants complete control over administering benefits of its Union employees, so it is trying to pull a bait-and-switch. Rite Aid is trying to bait workers with wages so it can switch administration of their benefits to the company, with no oversight.
Rite Aid has claimed health care costs for the jointly administered Union-Employer plan are too high. What it fails to mention is the company has not increased its contributions to the medical plan in over 12 years. Do you know of any other employer who offers medical benefits and has not seen its costs increase over the last decade?
The company is also trying to deceive and divide members, claiming the Union wants “to put the company out of business.” Nothing could be further from the truth.
Under the Rite Aid company plan, the company has proposed to:
• Eliminate benefits for new employees working less than 30 hours per week
• Eliminate retiree benefits
With a company plan in place, management would then replace existing members with benefits for new employees who are not eligible for benefits. They’ve already proposed eliminating some benefits, what else will change after they have administrative control?
We are asking Rite Aid workers in Northern California and our community partners to remain united and stand in solidarity with the workers who make Rite Aid profitable. Together we will prove once again:
Solidarity Works!
