TEAMSTERS AUTHORIZE STRIKE AT MCKESSON

Contract for California Warehouse Workers Expires December 10

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Dec. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Teamsters at McKesson in Sacramento, Calif., have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if the company fails to reach agreement on a fair contract. The 110 warehouse workers are members of Teamsters Local 150. The current contract expires December 10.

Since negotiations began in September, the company has consistently attempted to undermine the Teamsters' efforts at the bargaining table. McKesson rejected a proposed Teamster health care plan, insisting on an expensive and inadequate plan that workers cannot afford.

"It's an embarrassment that a health care company like McKesson refuses to provide our members with decent health care themselves. The Teamsters won't stand for it," said Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien.  

"I'm a single mother raising three young children and it's getting harder to make ends meet. Health care is important and we need coverage that we can afford," said Maria Herrera, a warehouse worker who has worked at McKesson for two years. "We are united in demanding respect and a fair contract."

"The current offer we received from the company is shameful and completely unacceptable," said Dale Wentz, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 150. "McKesson loves to tout the workforce as 'essential heroes,' but they balk at the idea of providing workers with adequate health care and decent pay. It's time for this company to put its money where its mouth is."

McKesson reported annual revenue of $264 billion in 2022, a 10.8 percent increase from the previous year. The company prioritizes corporate shareholders over workers, allocating $7.2 billion to stock buybacks from 2022-23, with another $6 billion in buybacks approved by McKesson's Board of Directors in August 2023.

"This resounding strike authorization vote is a call for justice, fairness, and respect for the workers who are responsible for McKesson's success. It's a check on corporate greed and a declaration that our members are ready to fight," said Tom Erickson, Director of the Teamsters Warehouse Division and Teamsters Central Region International Vice President. "McKesson Teamsters across the country are ready to support their brothers and sisters in California to hold the company accountable and get our members the contract they deserve."

Local 150 members stock, supply, and fill prescriptions to pharmacies, doctors' offices, and hospitals, including the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. If the labor dispute in Sacramento isn't settled soon, the Teamsters warn there will be a national impact.

The Teamsters represent approximately 1,000 McKesson workers nationwide.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking men and women in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.

Contact:
Daniel Moskowitz, (770) 262-4971
[email protected]

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters