By Cynthia Koons
They said Duane Reade, the largest pharmacy chain in the city, does not offer its employees a benefits package that makes buying their drugs affordable.
They also claimed the company charges more than its competitors for prescription drugs in the city's lower-income neighborhoods and that it owes its employees millions of dollars in back payments for unpaid benefits.
Armed with these charges, protest signs and “Dwyane Greed” bags mocking the company's recognizable logo, state Sens. Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Whitestone), John Sabini (D-Jackson Heights), Councilwoman Helen Sears (D-Jackson Heights) and Councilman Jose Peralta (D-Jackson Heights) joined Union 338 at the Elmhurst demonstration on July 7.
“We will be here day and night, week in and week out until Duane Reade realizes they have a responsibility,” John Durso, president of Union 338, said at the rally held at the 81-01 Broadway store.
Union leaders said they chose that store because it was in a neighborhood with a high concentration of minorities where they contend Duane Reade charges disproportionately more for prescription drugs than other stores do.
The politicians said they were standing behind the union until the situation was resolved.
“What we're seeing out of Duane Reade today is a classic case of corporate greed over worker need,” Sabini said.
Duane Reade is poised for sale at the moment, with Oak Hill Capital Partners the prospective new parent of the company's 2,600 employees in its 142 stores citywide that are represented by Local 338.
The union said the privatization of the company could put its accountability at risk, which is exactly why they said they were holding the rally.
“They still have to deal with us because we're not going away,” Scott Crowley, a Local 338 union representative, said.
Crowley said Duane Reade stripped its workers of some of their benefits in August 2001, after a new contract was negotiated
In addition to limiting the benefits provided by the company, Duane Reade eliminated the workers' holiday bonus, Crowley said.
In February, a federal judge found that Duane Reade owed its workers $25 million in unpaid union benefits that related to the contract brokered in August 2001.
While the company has not repaid that money to employees, Crowley said it has set aside at least $12 million in case it is required to reimburse the workers. The company is appealing the decision.
The company's acquisition price has been affected by this dispute, Crowley said. The price has fallen from nearly $18.50 a share last August to the $16 range on the New York Stock Exchange. Union representatives blamed the drop in the worth of the company on these alleged wrongdoings.
Representatives from Duane Reade could not be reached for comment.
“The price has dropped, and it's due in large part to Duane Reade's appalling labor practices and refusal to bargain fairly with the union representing its workers,” Durso said.
Stavisky said some of this could be resolved if the company would at least be accountable to its workers.
“They have refused to negotiate with the employees,” Stavisky said. “They must sit down and negotiate in good faith. They just have to sit down at the bargaining table.”
Reach reporter Cynthia Koons by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 141.
