- Organizers of a recent retail pharmacy staff strike helped launch a nationwide effort to organize those workers.
- A new partnership between organizers and IAM Healthcare aims to help pharmacy workers unionize to address unsafe working conditions experienced by many employees across the industry, including at major drugstore chains like Walgreens and CVS.
- The majority of pharmacists and technicians at these chains do not have union representation, while pharmacy employees at a few grocery retailers, such as Kroger, do not have union representation.
A small number of employees and supporters picket outside the headquarters of drugstore chain Walgreens during a three-day strike by pharmacists in Deerfield, Illinois, November 1, 2023.
Vincent Alban | Portal
Organizers of a recent staff strike at retail pharmacies are helping launch a nationwide effort Wednesday to organize those employees, a potential step toward large-scale unionization of thousands of pharmacists and technicians across the U.S. for the first time.
A new partnership between organizers and IAM Healthcare – a union that represents thousands of healthcare professionals – aims to help pharmacy staff unionize to address what many employees see as unsafe staffing and increasing workloads in throughout the industry, including large drugstore chains such as Walgreens and CVS.
The push for unionization, called The Pharmacy Guild, also calls for legislative and regulatory changes to establish higher standards of practice in pharmacies to protect patients.
Notably, the vast majority of pharmacists and technicians at Walgreens and CVS do not have union representation, while pharmacy staff at a handful of grocery retailers like Kroger do not have union representation, according to Shane Jerominski, a strike organizer who is helping is launching the campaign through its pharmacy advocacy social media platform, The Accidental Pharmacist.
The push to organize employees not currently represented by a union only adds to one of the most active years for the U.S. labor movement in recent history.
Both Walgreens and CVS said last week that their pharmacy staff’s strike last week had minimal impact on their pharmacy operations.
A Walgreens spokesperson previously told CNBC that the company has taken several steps across its pharmacies “to ensure our teams can focus on optimal patient care.” A CVS spokesperson also told CNBC that the company is currently working with employees to address any concerns directly.
Jerominski said the new partnership specifically allows pharmacy employees interested in unionizing to fill out a public form on a new website that asks about their role and the location of their pharmacy, among other things. IAM Healthcare and the strike organizers will then launch union campaigns in specific districts or areas with strong organizing support.
The Pharmacy Guild hopes to get 100,000 pharmacists and technicians to fill out the form, Jerominski said. He also predicted that in five years, 90% of pharmacists working for Walgreens and CVS will be unionized.
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Jerominksi called the push for unionization the “next logical step” after last week’s strike and previous walkouts by some Walgreens pharmacy employees in the U.S. and CVS employees in the Kansas City area.
Organizers don’t have a clear estimate of how many people took part in the walkout last week, but a survey they launched on the social media page for the action found that at least 200 employees from Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid have participated.
“Everyone asked me, what’s next? I think the time for strikes is over,” Jerominski, who is also a former Walgreens employee, told CNBC. “I think in order to make change from this point forward, we need to organize. Unionization won’t change everything, but it will help us ensure better working conditions for pharmacists.”
The Pharmacy Guild’s founding statement also describes the effort as a call to “take this powerful social movement of pharmacy professionals to the next level by developing the organizational infrastructure and institutional influence necessary to effect real change.”
The Pharmacy Guild doesn’t follow the standard method of organizing workers — but Jerominski believes that’s why it will work.
Typically, a pharmacy location that wants to unionize will contact a union, meet with a local union organizer, and begin asking employees or neighboring stores if they are interested in the initiative. Jerominski said one of the problems with this approach is that “these efforts can end up impacting management, which can stifle the whole thing from a district-wide standpoint.”
“Companies can do a lot to combat unionization,” Jerominski said.
Meanwhile, Jerominski said the Pharmacy Guild could allow multiple union campaigns to launch at the same time, which could make it difficult to intervene.
He also called the new effort a simpler approach to union organizing.
“If you want, all you have to do is fill it out,” Jerominski said. “We’ll do the rest. We will move forward from there, with the support of a national union.”
In addition to Jerominski’s account, two other social media platforms called RxComedy and #PizzaIsNotWorking are helping IAM Healthcare launch the initiative. Both platforms have long advocated for safer working conditions for pharmacy workers, and the founder and other members of #PizzaIsNotWorking helped organize recent strikes.
According to a press release from The Pharmacy Guild, the three platforms have a combined 300,000 followers.
The accounts will use their reach to raise awareness of The Pharmacy Guild and stay updated on the progress of unionization efforts, Jerominski said.
“The power of a truly centralized audience and the ability to constantly drive that — that’s a big part of our roles,” Jerominski said.