a CVS Omnicare Pharmacy in Las Vegas has become the first location to join the new national pharmacist union. This is a milestone for organizers who are trying to help thousands of U.S. pharmacy workers deal with what they call unsafe working conditions.
About 30 pharmacy staff at CVS Omnicare’s Las Vegas branch won Thursday’s union election by a landslide margin of 87% to 13%, according to a press release from the union. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians there write prescriptions for elderly and other vulnerable patients in long-term care facilities across Nevada.
These workers are now members of the Pharmacy Guild, which will represent them in labor negotiations with CVS.
“We will work to win the best contracts in the industry for the people who have trusted our union to represent us. This is a historic victory and a very decisive one. “It’s a huge win,” said community pharmacist and co-owner Shane Jerominski. The founder of the Pharmacy Guild told CNBC.
Jerominski and other organizers of recent national strikes for pharmacy workers partnered with IAM Healthcare, a union representing thousands of medical professionals, to launch the Pharmacy Guild in November. The late October shutdowns, dubbed “Pharmageddon” by organizers, affected major drugstore chains such as CVS. walgreens and Rite aidhas attracted widespread media attention to a range of workers’ concerns.
Similar to the strike effort, the Pharmacy Guild is working to help pharmacy staff cope with increased workloads across the industry, which many are calling unsafe staffing levels, putting both employees and patients at risk. The purpose is that. The Guild is also calling for legal and regulatory changes to establish higher standards of practice in pharmacies to protect patients.
The unionization effort is the culmination of years of growing dissatisfaction among retail pharmacy staff. They often suffer from understaffed teams and increased work expectations imposed by company management. The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated these problems, with new tasks such as testing and vaccinations further reducing the burden on pharmacists and technicians.
A CVS Health spokesperson said in a statement that the company respects the right of Omnicare Las Vegas employees to form or not union, including their decision to choose union representation. Ta. The company added that it is working “closely and collaboratively” with employees to address current and future concerns and is “committed to providing a positive and rewarding work environment.”
Omnicare, which was acquired by CVS in 2015, is not a retail pharmacy like most of the chain’s approximately 10,000 stores. According to the CVS website, Omnicare pharmacies are located in 49 states.
But Omnicare and other pharmacies face the same problems, from staffing levels to low starting salaries for technicians, Jerominski said.
“This is not unique to Omnicare. The issues they were expressing were the same issues I’m hearing across the country. This issue is ubiquitous across all major chains,” Jerominski he said. “You can only ask companies to support you for so long. … This is why the strike happened. They finally said, ‘No, we’re going to get the support we ask for.'”
The Pharmacy Guild will now work to reach a union contract with CVS to address the concerns of Omnicare workers in Las Vegas. Jerominski said these employees want pharmacy technicians to have consistent work schedules that guarantee them 40 hours a week year-round.
“If you don’t guarantee 40 hours, especially with the stress level of this job, you can’t retain people with the skill set and families,” Jerominski told CNBC.
Pharmacy Guild is also gaining momentum in other parts of the country. Jerominski said pharmacy staff at two retail stores in Rhode Island have formally acknowledged their application to the guild to form a union.
CVS is headquartered in the state.
