Philly Transit Bosses Give Workers Viagra to End Strike
A strike by transit workers in Philadelphia was ended after bosses agreed to increase coverage of Pfizer (PFE)’s Viagra in the employees’ healthcare plan.
The employees of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, which controls the buses and trains in Philly, were only eligible for 10 ED pills a day month under their old plan. Their strike — which included a 3 a.m. walkout during the World Series — called for one pill every day (among other things).
The bosses caved, per The Daily Finance blog:
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority has agreed to cover almost all of its rising health-care costs, and to increase coverage for Pfizer’s (PFE) Viagra and other erectile dysfunction treatments, the Philadelphia Daily News reports. Workers are unhappy that their health insurance plan only covers about 10 pills a month.
The strike is now over. You can’t make this up. As Inquirer columnist Karen Heller put it:
[It] makes you worry that every bus, trolley, and subway route has the potential to turn into an express, particularly during those problematic four-hour peaks in service.
- Related:
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- Pfizer Rep Alleges Viagra Promoted With Unapproved Materials: “Get Those Things Cleaned Up!”
- Cialis Goes Up Against Viagra in Hypertension Add-On War
- Lilly Q2: It’s Downhill From Here, Say Analysts; Cialis Gains on Viagra
Jim Edwards, a former managing editor of Adweek, has covered drug marketing at Brandweek for four years, and is a former Knight-Bagehot fellow at Columbia University's business and journalism schools. Follow him on Twitter or send him an email.
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