CVS Caremark tumbles on NJ loss amid union pressure
Shares of CVS Caremark fell 20 percent today after the Rhode Island-based national pharmacy manager said it had lost clients faster than it won new ones in the past year. Among its losses: $2 billion in yearly business from the State of New Jersey, where labor activists pushed state officials to not renew its contract.
Shares of CVS Caremark fell 20 percent today after the Rhode Island-based national pharmacy manager said it had lost clients faster than it won new ones in the past year. Among its losses: $2 billion in yearly business from the State of New Jersey, and $500 million from Ohio.
Labor union activists from the Service Employees International Union, which organizes pharmacy and warehouse workers, and the Change to Win union coalition, which includes SEIU, have targeted some of CVS's biggest customers, telling officials in New Jersey andother states the company has been enriching itself at public expense by working closely with state consultants and drugmakers. The company denies the accusations.
Philadelphia, among other communities, opted to stay with CVS Caremark this year despite a union effort to turn City Council against the company.
Bloomberg story about CVS's woes here.