CVS, Walgreens pharmacy staff 3-day walkout dubbed 'Pharmageddon'
Pharmacists at CVS and Walgreens walked off the job at stores across the United States on Monday in a three-day protest of harsh working conditions inside two of the country's largest retail chains.
File photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Pharmacists at CVS and Walgreens walked off the job at stores across the United States on Monday to protest harsh working conditions inside two of the country's largest pharmacy retail chains.
Monday's walkout by as many as 4,500 non-union pharmacists and pharmacy technicians was the start of a three-day protest, dubbed "Pharmageddon," to draw attention to poor working conditions that they say make it difficult for them to safely fill prescriptions. The walkouts are scheduled through Wednesday.
The American Pharmacists Association issued a statement Monday, saying it supports the walkouts.
"APhA stands with every pharmacist who participated in the walkout today. The bottom line is that we support every pharmacist's right to work in an environment with staffing that supports your ability to provide patient care. We know that these are steps you deem necessary in order to be heard by your employer."
Representatives from CVS and Walgreens told USA Today that they are experiencing minimal disruptions with the walkouts.
The non-union workers organized this week's walkouts -- as well as walkouts earlier this month in Arizona, Washington, Massachusetts and Oregon -- through social media channels such as Reddit and Facebook.
At issue are pharmacy staffing cuts since the COVID-19 pandemic, which pharmacists say have saddled them with additional duties.
"I think most of us who are participating feel like we haven't been heard," said Nathan Fuller, a Walgreens pharmacist in Colorado. "People are either so burned out or fed up with the way things have been going that it's hit a bursting point. If we continue to go down the direction we're going, it's going to be too unsafe."
Independent pharmacist in Southern California Shane Jerominski, who is one of the walkout's organizers, created a GoFundMe page to help unionization efforts and to fund workers who need financial help during the walkouts. As of Monday night, it had reached more than $61,000 out of its $250,000 goal.
"For years, you have dealt with workplace issues, leading to frustrations and burnout, affecting your mental health and well-being," APhA added.
"Supervisors who are not pharmacists do not understand the needs of care teams and make unreasonable demands on time-based productivity. Quotas on the number of prescriptions filled per hour or vaccines administered per day or even time to answer the phone, simply fail to recognize that the pharmacist-patient relationship is not transactional."
According to a recent survey released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the incidents of harassment by patients of healthcare workers -- including pharmacists -- more than doubled between 2018 and 2022. Nearly half, 46%, of health workers reported feeling burned out last year. That is up from 32% in 2018.
"Your corporate policies are unfair, restrict trade and are causing the closure of hundreds of pharmacies across America," APhA said. "You are worsening health disparities and creating a new public health emergency. Soon there will be no pharmacies in most communities to administer vaccines or provide testing for infectious disease."
Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Pharmacists at CVS and Walgreens walked off the job at stores across the United States on Monday to protest harsh working conditions inside two of the country's largest pharmacy retail chains.
Monday's walkout by as many as 4,500 non-union pharmacists and pharmacy technicians was the start of a three-day protest, dubbed "Pharmageddon," to draw attention to poor working conditions that they say make it difficult for them to safely fill prescriptions. The walkouts are scheduled through Wednesday.
The American Pharmacists Association issued a statement Monday, saying it supports the walkouts.
"APhA stands with every pharmacist who participated in the walkout today. The bottom line is that we support every pharmacist's right to work in an environment with staffing that supports your ability to provide patient care. We know that these are steps you deem necessary in order to be heard by your employer."
Representatives from CVS and Walgreens told USA Today that they are experiencing minimal disruptions with the walkouts.
The non-union workers organized this week's walkouts -- as well as walkouts earlier this month in Arizona, Washington, Massachusetts and Oregon -- through social media channels such as Reddit and Facebook.
At issue are pharmacy staffing cuts since the COVID-19 pandemic, which pharmacists say have saddled them with additional duties.
"I think most of us who are participating feel like we haven't been heard," said Nathan Fuller, a Walgreens pharmacist in Colorado. "People are either so burned out or fed up with the way things have been going that it's hit a bursting point. If we continue to go down the direction we're going, it's going to be too unsafe."
Independent pharmacist in Southern California Shane Jerominski, who is one of the walkout's organizers, created a GoFundMe page to help unionization efforts and to fund workers who need financial help during the walkouts. As of Monday night, it had reached more than $61,000 out of its $250,000 goal.
"For years, you have dealt with workplace issues, leading to frustrations and burnout, affecting your mental health and well-being," APhA added.
"Supervisors who are not pharmacists do not understand the needs of care teams and make unreasonable demands on time-based productivity. Quotas on the number of prescriptions filled per hour or vaccines administered per day or even time to answer the phone, simply fail to recognize that the pharmacist-patient relationship is not transactional."
According to a recent survey released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the incidents of harassment by patients of healthcare workers -- including pharmacists -- more than doubled between 2018 and 2022. Nearly half, 46%, of health workers reported feeling burned out last year. That is up from 32% in 2018.
"Your corporate policies are unfair, restrict trade and are causing the closure of hundreds of pharmacies across America," APhA said. "You are worsening health disparities and creating a new public health emergency. Soon there will be no pharmacies in most communities to administer vaccines or provide testing for infectious disease."
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