Monday, June 23, 2008

UFCW Members Vote Overwhelmingly to Ratify Contract Featuring Wage Increases and Expanded Health Benefits

June 23, 2008 - Members of UFCW Locals 5, 8 and 101 in Northern California voted overwhelmingly to ratify a three-year labor agreement with Rite Aid Corporation.

UFCW 8 President Jacques Loveall, UFCW 5 President Ron Lind and UFCW 101 President Mike Borstel hailed the contract as “a milestone in the retail drug industry.”

“In an age when workers across the nation are seeing their wages frozen and their health plans cut - or even eliminated altogether - this agreement gives all of our Rite Aid members wage increases or bonuses and improved health coverage,” the UFCW presidents said.

“Our local unions worked together effectively through more than a year of negotiations that were, at times, difficult. Our united front gave us unprecedented clout with the Rite Aid management. We were proud to present to our members an agreement they could endorse with enthusiasm.”

The three UFCW unions represent approximately 4,300 workers in Rite Aid stores in the northern two-thirds of California. UFCW 8-Golden State extends from the Oregon border in the north to Fresno County in the south. UFCW Locals 5 and 101 represent members in the San Francisco Bay Area, San Jose and Silicon Valley.