MEDCO labor dispute in Willingboro, NJ

[medcoworker]

HI to all members. Does anyone remember lockout at Las Vegas by Medco Health Soulutions. Today on June 12 th 2008 the same chapter is happening in Willingboro, NJ which is the largest facility of Medco despite of record profits Medco does not want to increase the wage of Medco's pharmacy technician who are working in Medco for more than 3 years. Just for a information Medco has three main facilities over USA one is in Las vegas anothe ris in OHIO and third is in Willingboro, NJ.
Just the overview of payscale of thee facilities.
OHIO's pharmacy technician who is with the company for more than 3 years are called senior pharmacy technician gets $18 per hour.
LAS VEGAS pharmcy technician who is with the company for 3 years get $16.90 per hour.
And finally comming to willingboro the phrmact technician who are with company for three years gets $11.25 per hour. The reason MEDCO gives is that in TRI STATE area unemployment is very high so if you want to work with MEDCO take the pay or MEDCO will replace the worker. So you guys tell us what should be DONE?
TODAY medco willingboro members rejected the contract given by company and has demanded same pay as LAS VEGAS and OHIO. DO YOU GUYS AGREE THAT THE PHARMACY TECHNICIAN SHOULD BE PAID SAME AS LAS VEGAS AND OHIO. OR EVEN CLOSE TO THAT?
AND FINALLY, do you guy have heard of any company who does not pay shift difference to their employees MEDCO willingboro worker does not get shift difference until the worker are in the MEDCO willingboro facility for 2 years. So a worker who is in MEDCO willingboro for more than 2 years gets shift difference.

[Potential Medco Worker]

Hello. I am interested in finding out if this contract was ever settled. If so, I do agree that the Pharmacy Technicians should be paid just the same as those in Las Vegas and Ohio, or at least, an average, about $15-$16. The shift difference is crazy if they don't give it. Please keep us posted.

[mike jones]

why not gid rid of unions and perhaps the company could even the field for all employees...if we keep up the games involing the unions perhaps we will run Medco in the ground much like the car industry.

[Ex potential Medco Worker]

MJ,
Medco won't increase anyones wage just because unions are not there to bargain. You are fool if you think they are. Medco has people who's job is to lower wage and benefits until the point is reached where they can't retain workers and new hires aren't interested. That is what they will do. Their union is the only thing getting them what they have now. You are a fool if you think that any company,esp. Medco, out of the goodness of their corporate hearts, are going to give you any more than what they absolutely have to. Collective bargaining is the only thing between them and poverty wages.

[Grace]

Our group was hired as CSR. We were promised all Holidays and benifet packages. All our paperwork states that and was signed. Then after 6 weeks of training were were told that those benifets did not apply to us and we were notified by e-mail. Their excuse is you work for Medco. Our response was then we want the same rate of pay and benefits Medco has. We have yet received an answer and they will not give us a Medco handbook. The affliate of Medco enticed us with a wonderful benifets package then Poof it was gone. We were all hired under false pretense. We get paid the affiliates rate of pay and need to follw their procedures which includes only a 1/2 hr for lunch and 10 minute breaks. We understand Medco employees receive a better rate of pay and also receive a hour for lunch and 15 minute breaks. Then we find out that Medco employees get are paid a higher rate than we do. So on one hand they pay us the affliates rate, we have to follow their procedures and they took away all benifits including holidays (that we were promised when hired with a signed contract). We have 2 sets of rules we must abide by which makes every thing a little confusing. If we work for a affiliate of Medco our paperwork says we get affliates benefits. So were are not sure who we work for.

[In NJ]

medcoworker wrote:

HI to all members. Does anyone remember lockout at Las Vegas by Medco Health Soulutions. Today on June 12 th 2008 the same chapter is happening in Willingboro, NJ which is the largest facility of Medco despite of record profits Medco does not want to increase the wage of Medco's pharmacy technician who are working in Medco for more than 3 years. Just for a information Medco has three main facilities over USA one is in Las vegas anothe ris in OHIO and third is in Willingboro, NJ.
Just the overview of payscale of thee facilities.
OHIO's pharmacy technician who is with the company for more than 3 years are called senior pharmacy technician gets $18 per hour.
LAS VEGAS pharmcy technician who is with the company for 3 years get $16.90 per hour.
And finally comming to willingboro the phrmact technician who are with company for three years gets $11.25 per hour. The reason MEDCO gives is that in TRI STATE area unemployment is very high so if you want to work with MEDCO take the pay or MEDCO will replace the worker. So you guys tell us what should be DONE?
TODAY medco willingboro members rejected the contract given by company and has demanded same pay as LAS VEGAS and OHIO. DO YOU GUYS AGREE THAT THE PHARMACY TECHNICIAN SHOULD BE PAID SAME AS LAS VEGAS AND OHIO. OR EVEN CLOSE TO THAT?
AND FINALLY, do you guy have heard of any company who does not pay shift difference to their employees MEDCO willingboro worker does not get shift difference until the worker are in the MEDCO willingboro facility for 2 years. So a worker who is in MEDCO willingboro for more than 2 years gets shift difference.

Medco built the facility in Willingboro to close its pharmacy in Parsippany in order to get rid of their most senior and well paid employees and tap an area that has high unemployment to keep employee wages low. Therefore its no surprise to me that they are continuing the practice and not paying the employees at Willingboro the same as at other pharmacies. Medco has always paid its people below average and without the union, Medco would pay its employees even lower. Case in point, in Parsippany, they were payng warehouse employees $6.25 an hour. At that pay rate, morale was low and it was very hard to find and retain quality personell. It took the union and a manager with some sense to convince top level executives in Parsippany to finally raise the starting salary to nine dollars an hour. When labor successfully negotiated a pension plan and expanded stock options to new hires, Medco had obviously decided to get rid of the Parsippany pharmacy as the announcement of the new Willingboro pharmacy was made soon after. The handwriting was on the wall. Medco did a pump and dump of its stock to ensure that the new hires would never make a penny on their stock options and they began to scale back operations. The whole time management lied to its employees telling them they would have a job, that Parsippany would be a call center and continue to fill prepackaged medicines. Then they announced that Parsippany would become a call center only and then they closed the pharmacy altogether. Medco is a company that will stop at nothing to improve its bottom line, Just ask the thousands of people who used to work for Medco in Parsippany, New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts whose hard work was rewarded with a pink slip.