The ongoing strike at six Rite Aid stores in the Cleveland area inspired the third in a series ofnational 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 offederal law violations, including harassment and intimidation. The biggest action took place in San Pedro, CA, where hundreds joined Rite Aid workers from the company’s big distribution center in Lancaster, CA to 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://labornot es.org/2011/04 /unions-say-strip-s cripts-rite-aid-disp utes; and In These Timesarticle by Rand Wilson: Rite Aid Workers’ Stri ke in Cleveland Sparks Nationwide Protest. http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/7139/six_s tore_rite_aid_str ike_in_cleveland_ sparks_nationwide_prote st/also cross-posted at http://www .jwjblog.org/2011 /04/rite-aid-workers- strike-in-cleveland-sparks-nationwide- protest/Rite Aid workers and supporters turn up heat in battle for affordable health insurance that all working families need The Montiel family (above) joined a large rally to kick- off the “pinpoint” boycott oftwo Rite Aid stores in San Pedro, CA. Below: USAS students joined the Seattle action, part of dozens across the country. Solidarity actions took place in eight states –CA, MA, MI, NJ, NY, OH, PA, and WA –plus Was hington, 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 Justicesponsored actions in Cleveland, Methuen, MA and Bellingham, WA and UFCW Local 1445 visited Rite Aid stores in MA. UFCW Locals 1360 and 876did 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 representative to assist UFCW Local 880 in Cleveland. Strikers in Cleveland have been buoyedby wide support of their struggle with Rite Aid. Many supporters went to the Rite Aid in downtown Oakland, CA. 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 f or 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 amount until Rite Aid agrees to stop overcharging workers for health insurance. launch a pinpoint boycott of two Rite Aid stores in San Pedro.
