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Employees at the two largest drugstore chains in the United States say harsh working conditions make it difficult to fill prescriptions safely, which could put their customers’ health at risk. Now, they are demanding change by holding a series of walkouts across the country.
Pharmacy workers at some Walgreens stores, including pharmacists, technicians and support staff, are planning a walkout between Oct. 9-11, an organizer, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation from the chain, confirmed to CNN. of. Some workers are planning to be out for just one day, while others are hoping to keep their pharmacies closed all three days.
Employees at more than 500 of the approximately 9,000 Walgreens stores across the United States have expressed interest and solidarity, though very few will participate, said a Walgreens pharmacy employee and walkout organizer.
CNN spoke to employees at three Walgreens stores in three states who said they were planning to walk out.
The planned action comes after pharmacy workers walked off the job at several CVS stores in the Kansas City area last week.
According to the organizer, the coordinated action at some Walgreens stores is in response to pharmacy staff demanding burdensome prescription and vaccination requirements imposed on pharmacists by corporate management. As a result, employees often find themselves lagging behind and dealing with angry customers.
The company sets performance expectations based on the number of team members at each pharmacy, the pharmacy employee said. However, in reality, staffing is much less than that. Also, the worker said, they have cut training hours for new technicians.
“We do not believe that Walgreens is allowing us to provide safe care to our patients on a daily basis,” the organizer said. “Walgreens is not responding, they’re not fixing those things.”
A representative for Walgreens said the company has increased training for new pharmacists, but is pausing “non-critical” training during the busy vaccination season.
Walgreens Representatives also told CNN that there have never been corporate quotas and that all work-based metrics for retail pharmacy employees were eliminated last year as part of a performance review of team members. The company said it has made an incremental investment of $265 million in its nationwide pharmacy team this fiscal year and has created dedicated positions for pharmacists to manage inventory and administrative functions.
Still, a pharmacy employee who said her store’s employees would be participating in a walkout on Monday told CNN they are expected and encouraged to administer more vaccines. “I spend almost all of my day in the shot room, and if I’m not in the shot room I’m filling prescriptions because we’re so behind,” he said.
“There have been many nights when I’ve been on the verge of tears because of how hard it is,” he said. “I had a patient who punched me and told me I was doing a good job, and that meant a lot to me. “The patients are taking care of us more than the employers.”
Another pharmacist told CNN that he expects his pharmacy to be closed during the planned walkout period and that he has heard from Walgreens pharmacists at 13 other stores in his state who are interested in participating.
“We’re going to do far more harm to people over the next 10 years of working this way than a three-day walkout would have,” the pharmacist said. “It’s time to try something different. Every year we get the same promises and every year we get the same Band-Aid on the problem.
In a statement to CNN, Walgreens acknowledged that pharmacy employees were overworked.
“The past few years have required unprecedented effort from our team members, and we share their pride in the work they’ve done — while recognizing that this has been a very challenging time,” said Fraser Engerman, Walgreens communications director. ” “We also understand the tremendous pressure retail pharmacies are feeling across the United States at this time. “We are engaged and listening to the concerns raised by some of our team members.”
“Walgreens is committed to ensuring that our entire pharmacy team has the support and resources they need to provide the best care to our patients while caring for their well-being,” Engerman said. “We are making significant investments in pharmacist salaries and recruiting bonuses to attract/retain talent at staff locations.”
Walgreens and CVS Pharmacy Employees and Pharmacist Advocates His job has always been difficult, he told CNN, but the pandemic has made things nearly impossible. Employees describe severe and long-term staff shortages, low wages, high vaccination quotas, long periods without bathroom breaks, abusive management, and violent customers.
Inspired by successful labor strikes across the country this year, they are saying enough is enough and are organizing a walkout as part of what some labor supporters are calling “Pharmageddon.”
In September, CVS pharmacists closed 22 pharmacies in the Kansas City area in two walkouts in two weeks in a planned protest, leading executives of the Rhode Island-based retailer to meet with employees and assure them of additional support and higher overtime pay. will be given. coming.
“Pharmacists are doing exactly what they have been trained to do, which is to evaluate the situation and take the necessary actions to ensure they are providing the best patient care,” said Michael Hogg, CEO of the American Pharmacists Association. Traveled to Kansas City this week to meet with CVS officials and walkout organizers. “We have a widespread problem of inadequate staffing in community-based pharmacies in America.”
Brandon Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
A CVS Pharmacy in Washington, DC.
Prem Shah, CVS’s chief pharmacy officer and president of pharmacy and consumer wellness, issued an internal memo, reviewed by CNN, apologizing to its pharmacy teams for failing to more quickly address concerns in the field.
Employees are skeptical.
One of the CVS walkout organizers told CNN that another meeting with Shah is planned for October 15, but no time or location has been set.
Amy Thibault, lead director of external communications, said, “We are committed to providing consistent, safe, high-quality health care access to the patients and communities we serve and addressing any concerns they may have directly with our pharmacists. “Working to find a solution.” CVS Pharmacy said in a statement to CNN. “We are focused on developing a sustainable, scalable action plan that can be implemented in markets where support may be needed so that we can continue to provide the high-quality care that our patients depend on. ”
Even one day without access to the drug would be devastating for Americans, said Amanda Applegate of the Kansas Pharmacists Association. “But it’s about making sure you’re getting those prescriptions in a timely, efficient and safe manner [why] Pharmacists are moving out,” she said. Pharmacists aren’t asking for huge pay raises and vacation days, he said, they’re asking for more help getting their jobs done.
This week, more than 75,000 Kaiser Permanente employees walked off the job, citing similar problems and marking the largest health care worker strike in U.S. history.
Pharmacist advocates believe the walkout is likely to continue for some time. CVS and Walgreens pharmacists are not currently represented by a union and these efforts have been coordinated by individual workers. However, multiple sources told CNN that CVS and Walgreens workers have recently been in contact with union groups.
While Kansas City “has been a tinderbox,” Applegate said, these walkouts could have happened anywhere.
“It’s a tough job on a good day. It’s incredibly rewarding work, but also hard,” she said. “And so the idea of essentially turning pharmacists into ATMs in these environments, is to encourage quantity over quality, which is why it’s happening.”