Local Unions sue consulting giant for opioid crisis money
The lawsuit against McKinsey & Co. was filed on behalf of the health and welfare funds of dozens of construction trade and other unions.
This article was originally published on by THE CITY
A group of union health funds this week sued global consulting firm McKinsey & Co. for its role in the opioid crisis — claiming they’ve spent so much money on members’ prescriptions and treatment for addiction that they’ve had to tap into pension funds to cover those costs.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Queens Supreme Court on behalf of 50 local health and welfare funds covering dozens of construction trade and other unions, including ironworkers, laborers, metal polishers, and the union representing NYPD traffic enforcement agents.
In the suit, they claim McKinsey’s well-documented role working with Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, in pushing pain pills caused these organizations “substantial injury” as they incurred “unreimbursed costs related to the over-prescription of opioids.”