Walgreens pharmacists stage walkout over working conditions

Oct 10, 2023

Karah Rucker Anchor/Reporter

By Karah Rucker (Anchor/Reporter), Brock Koller (Senior Producer), Ian Kennedy (Editor)

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In more labor unrest, employees at Walgreens have begun a three-day walkout, as thousands of autoworkers across the country are already on strike for better pay and benefits. Organizers estimate that hundreds of pharmacists, technicians and support staff walked out on Monday, Oct. 9, in hopes to secure better working conditions.

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Organizers told The Washington Post that the walkout, which was organized on the website Reddit, is about staffing shortages and workloads. Organizers added that they are being asked to administer vaccines while also dealing with hundreds of prescriptions, making it impossible to do their job responsibly.

According to a USA Today report, the nation’s second-largest pharmacy chain is downplaying the impact the walkout will have on its operation.

A “small number of our pharmacies are experiencing disruptions, and we apologize for any inconvenience,” a Walgreens spokesperson told USA Today. “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.”

Still, it is being reported that pharmacies at some Walgreens locations in Arizona, Washington, Massachusetts and Oregon have closed due to the walkout.

Organizers told USA Today that they are looking for three things from Walgreens: “transparency in how staff hours are allocated, dedicated training time for each new hire and a reconfiguration of quotas.”

The Walgreens walkout follows just two weeks behind dozens of pharmacists and support staff walking out at CVS in Kansas City over unsafe working conditions.

Tags: CVS, Labor, Strike, Walgreens

EMPLOYEES OF THE PHARMACY CHAIN WALGREENS ARE THE NEXT SET OF WORKERS TO WALK OUT OF THEIR JOBS – IN HOPES OF SECURING BETTER WORKING CONDITIONS.

THOUSANDS OF PHARMACIST, TECHNICIANS AND SUPPORT STAFF BEGAN A PLANNED 3-DAY WALKOUT ON MONDAY – AT STORES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. SOME PHARMACIES IN ARIZONA, MASSACHUSETTS AND OREGON HAVE TEMPORARLIY CLOSED.

AN ORGANIZER TELLING THE WASHINGTON POST – INCREASING DEMANDS ON UNDERSTAFFED EMPLOYEES LED TO THE WALKOUT – SAYING THEY ARE BEING ASKED TO ADMINISTER VACCINES WHILE ALSO DEALING WITH HUNDREDS OF PRESCRIPTIONS – MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO DO THEIR JOB RESPONSIBLY.

WALGREENS REPLIED — SAYING – THE COMPANY UNDERSTANDS THE LAST FEW YEARS HAVE BEEN “UNPRECENDENTED” AND “A VERY CHALLENGING TIME.”

WALGREENS SAYS IT IS MAKING SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS IN PHARMACIST WAGES – AND LISTENING TO THEIR CONCERNS.

LAST WEEK – PHARMACY EMPLOYEES IN MULTIPLE CVS STORES IN KANSAS CITY STAGED A SIMILAR WALKOUT.

EMPLOYEES AT BOTH COMPANIES ARE NOT UNIONIZED – REPORTS SAYING WALGREENS’ WALKOUT CAME TOGETHER ON THE ONLINE SITE REDDIT.