Staff From CVS, Walgreens Stores in US Start Pharmacy Walkout: Organizer

Pharmacy chains say walkout appears to have made a minimal impact, however.

A Walgreens store in Riviera Beach, Fla., on Oct. 25, 2017. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Some employees at CVS and Walgreens pharmacies launched a three-day walkout that started on Oct. 30 over what they said is an attempt to get the companies to improve working conditions.

“Some of these stores are so grossly understaffed at the moment and just bogged down with not only prescriptions but the amount of immunization appointments and walk-ins that they’re expected to do,” said Shane Jerominski, a former Walgreens pharmacist and one of the organizers of the walkout.

It isn’t clear how many workers have or would partake in the walkout, or how many stores will be impacted.

The walkout could potentially affect hundreds of CVS and Walgreens stores across the United States, Mr. Jerominski told other news outlets. Workers at CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid have pledged to call in sick for three days, he told Fox Business.

Pharmacy staff in New York and Pennsylvania, including workers at some of Walgreens’s Duane Reade stores in New York, were planning to participate, he told Reuters.

Mr. Jerominski said the organizers were also seeking better pay and more consistent hours for technicians, who locate, dispense, pack, and label prescribed medication for patients under the supervision of pharmacists.

“After years and years of trying to get the attention of the corporations about those issues, their inability to respond properly and their skillful ways to shift blame and lie to the public about the true essence of their practices which have eventually led to this public crisis and unsafe conditions, employees really had enough,” said Bled Tanoe, a former Walgreens pharmacist who’s also helping to organize the walkouts, according to The Washington Post.

Overhyped?

However, a Walgreens spokesman told the Post that only two of the retailer’s roughly 9,000 locations were affected as of 10:45 a.m. EDT. CVS spokeswoman Amy Thibault told CNBC that the chain “isn’t seeing any unusual activity regarding unplanned pharmacy closures or pharmacist walkouts.”

A Rite Aid spokesperson told the broadcaster that the company isn’t aware of any plans for an employee walkout. In recent months and years, Rite Aid has made steps to “improve work/life balance and working conditions for our pharmacists is evidence of our commitment to the team,” the spokesperson said.

Staffers at Walgreens and CVS carried out walkouts in multiple states in September and early October that reportedly shut down a small number of pharmacies. In response, Walgreens spokesman Marty Maloney told news outlets at the time that the impact of the walkouts was “minimal.”

“[A] small number of our pharmacies are experiencing disruptions, and we apologize for any inconvenience,” he said. “We are working to return these pharmacies to regular operations as quickly as possible. Nearly all of our 9,000 locations continue to serve our patients and customers.”

Other Strikes

The walkouts are part of the larger trend of labor unrest in several industries, which has included strikes by autoworkers, writers, actors, and health care workers.

Over the weekend, General Motors and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union reached a tentative agreement on a weeks-long strike, with workers winning record pay hikes to end six weeks of a coordinated strike against the Detroit Three automakers.

Labor supporters and members of the United Auto Workers Union (UAW) Local 230 march along a picket line during a strike outside of the Stellantis Chrysler Los Angeles Parts Distribution Center in Ontario, Calif., on Sept. 26, 2023. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

The accord follows deals reached in the past few days by the union with Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler-owner Stellantis, although details of the GM deal haven’t been confirmed yet.

Nearly 50,000 workers out of roughly 150,000 union members at the Detroit Three eventually joined a series of walkouts that began on Sept. 15. The UAW’s strategy of escalating, targeted strikes cost the Detroit Three and suppliers billions of dollars over more than 40 days.

In October, thousands of nurses, emergency room technicians, and other staff who work for Kaiser Permanente engaged in a three-day strike before Kaiser and a coalition of unions came to an agreement. The strike marked the largest work stoppage to date in the health care sector. Kaiser said that it kept its hospitals and emergency departments open during the walkout, staffed by doctors, managers, and “contingency workers.”

In September, Hollywood’s writers union said its members could return to work after the Writers Guild of America leadership voted unanimously to end a months-long strike.

Meanwhile, tech workers at The New York Times announced a plan to strike for a half-day on Oct. 30, accusing the publisher of attempting to unilaterally force them back to the office. The stoppage of work was to start at 1 p.m. EDT, and the nearly 700 workers planned to hold demonstrations on Zoom and outside of the company’s headquarters in Manhattan, where some planned to wear Halloween costumes, the Times Tech Guild said.

Reuters contributed to this report.