For the past few years, the Big Three drug distributors - McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen - have created an epidemic by pumping millions of opioid drugs into communities across America, ignoring the warnings of the Drug Enforcement Agency and local law enforcement.
Here's one example. In West Virginia alone, they flooded the state with 780 million painkillers - 433 painkillers for each person in the state. Since then, deaths by overdose have skyrocketed by 67%. Across the country, the death rate from painkiller overdose has tripled in the past decade.
Something else has skyrocketed since the start of the epidemic: CEO pay. Over the past four years, the CEOs of McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen made more than $450 million combined in salary and other compensations. McKesson is now the fifth largest corporation in America.
CEOs shouldn't generate an epidemic to create profits. Tell Big Pharma shareholders to stop opioid profiteering and hold their execs accountable.
The Teamsters Union is demanding that these CEO's forfeit their large compensation to help pay for the ravages of the opioid epidemic. As pension fund shareholders of these companies, they are entitled to push for a 'clawback' - a take back of CEO pay and compensation.
Forty people die each day in the United states from opioid overdoses. Meanwhile, the drug distributors continue to make a killing. Lets join the Teamsters in this effort to hold them accountable.
Tell Big Pharma shareholders: Claw back CEO compensation now and stop profiteering from the opioid epidemic.
More information
Charleston Gazette-Mail. 17 December 2016.
News Democrat and Leader. 20 March 2017.
Washington Post. 9 March 2017.