Pharmacy staff at Walgreens, other chains reportedly planning nationwide walkout
Pharmacy staff from Walgreens are reportedly gearing up for a nationwide walkout and multiple rallies at the end of October to protest unsatisfactory working conditions, and are in talks with employees from other retail pharmacies, including CVS, about joining them, per a CNBC report.
The walkout and rallies, which are still in the planning stages, are in response to pharmacists' complaints about understaffed teams and increasing work expectations imposed by corporate management amid their increased responsibilities, such as testing and vaccinating following the COVID pandemic, the report noted.
In recent weeks, some pharmacy staff from Walgreens locations around the country and CVS stores in the Kansas City area held separate walkouts.
[Read more: Pharmacy staff at Walgreens reportedly walk out]
According to the CNBC report, a Walgreens organizer, who is a Walgreens employee the walkouts are scheduled for Oct. 30 to Nov. 1. Another organizer, Shane Jerominski, who is an independent pharmacist who used to work for Walgreens, confirmed those dates. Jerominski is a pharmacy labor advocate who has been actively involved in organizing recent walkouts, the report noted.
The Walgreens organizer said they have been in talks with pharmacy staff from other retail chains about participating in the group walkout. A CVS employee, who was the main organizer of the Kansas City area walkouts, confirmed that they have been in contact with the Walgreens organizer about getting the CVS pharmacy staff they represent to join the nationwide effort. That employee, who also asked to remain anonymous, represents CVS pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in the Kansas City area, CNBC said.
A Walgreens spokesperson contacted by Drug Store News said that the company "is not going to speculate on possible disruptions."
A CVS spokesperson provided Drug Store News with the following statement: "We’re serving patients across our footprint and we're not seeing any unusual activity regarding unplanned pharmacy closures or pharmacist walkouts. We’re committed to providing access to consistent, safe, high-quality health care to the patients and communities we serve and are working with our pharmacists to directly address any concerns they may have. We’re focused on developing a sustainable, scalable action plan to support both our pharmacists and our customers, that can be put in place in markets where support may be needed so we can continue delivering the high-quality care our patients depend on."
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The CVS employee said whether those employees join will depend on the outcome of a meeting the person has with Prem Shah, the company’s chief pharmacy officer and president of pharmacy and consumer wellness, that was set to be held on Oct. 13.
Pharmacy staff participating in the nationwide effort would also hold demonstrations outside the stores that workers walk out of, according to the people who spoke to CNBC.
Jerominksi told CNBC that organizers are planning to hold rallies in areas that will see the “largest scale” of participation in the walkout, but no specific store locations have been finalized.
Jerominski and the Walgreens organizer said they are considering pushing for unionization for pharmacy staff not currently represented by one. The vast majority of pharmacists and technicians from Walgreens and CVS have no union representation, while pharmacy staff from a handful of grocery retailers such as Kroger do, according to Jerominski, per the report.