Monday, November 10, 2014

McKesson employee, fired for speaking out about low pay, reinstated


Glenn Gray speaking out at McKesson's annual meeting last year
Glenn Gray will be back at his old job at a McKesson warehouse in Lakeland, Fla., after he was fired for speaking out about the workers' low pay. McKesson's CEO, John Hammergren, is one of the highest paid CEOs in the country.

Here's what Brother Gray said:
A majority of my co-workers cannot even afford to participate in the company’s health care plan or to contribute anything out of their paychecks to the company’s 401(k) plan.
NLRB judge Judge Keltner W. Locke ordered McKesson to immediately reinstate him and other fired workers and to stop soliciting employees to decertify their union.

According to a Teamsters' press statement,
...McKesson unlawfully fired 13-year employee Glenn Gray after he confronted McKesson CEO John Hammergren at the company’s shareholder meeting in July 2013. At the meeting, Gray challenged Hammergren, who receives about $50 million a year in total compensation and has one of the highest reported pensions of any executive, to address the dire situation in Lakeland...
The judge ordered McKesson to fully reinstate and provide back pay to both Gray and another employee who was illegally terminated for union activity.
More than three years ago, McKesson workers in Lakeland, Fla. voted to join the Teamsters despite an aggressive anti-union campaign.These workers still do not have a first contract. They're continuing to fight for fair compensation and affordable health care. Last week, Judge Locke ruled McKesson illegally plotted to solicit employees to sign a petition to decertify the union.

Teamsters International Vice President Ken Wood said:
The workers at McKesson have stayed strong despite being harassed, coerced, and denied their federally-protected rights. Now that the NLRB has ruled against the decertification, hopefully the workers will get the protections of a fair first contract that they deserve.
Wood is also president of Teamsters Local Union 79 in Tampa.