On Dec. 15, Pennsylvania State College students rallied in front of two Rite Aid pharmacies in State College, Pa.
The students were taking part in the Rite Aid National Day of Action that involved hundreds of concerned students, community members, workers and union allies who were standing in solidarity with workers in over 40 Rite Aid locations nationwide.
The students, joined by Party for Socialism and Liberation members, braved the freezing temperatures to help educate community members about Rite Aid’s assaults on workers’ livelihoods. The students were working with the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776 from Pennsylvania and Local 880 from Ohio along with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and other groups.
Rite Aid is using the economic downturn to tell workers to cut back: In Ohio, they want to impose higher health care costs on employees; in Pennsylvania, they have been stalling for two years and preventing workers from winning a fair contract; and in California, they are marking up health care costs 28 times what is being charged by insurers.
Meanwhile, CEO John Standley has doubled his own compensation over the past year to $4.5 million. This made Rite Aid a contestant in Jobs with Justice’s annual “Scrooge of the Year” contest.
Students from State College gave Rite Aid customers leaflets telling about its attacks on workers and delivered letters of concern to the manager. Still in high spirits after the first rally, the students then moved on to rally at another Rite Aid location, until being forced to leave by management.
Only under the absurd logic of the capitalist system is it justifiable for executives to double their own compensation while slashing workers’ pay and benefits nationwide. The Party for Socialism and Liberation is determined to help workers and students fight back against this injustice.
