CNBC reports that “the organizers of a recent retail pharmacy staff walkout are helping to launch a national push to organize those employees … a potential step to wide-scale unionization of thousands of pharmacists and technicians across the U.S. for the first time.
“A new partnership between the organizers and IAM Healthcare – a union representing thousands of health-care professionals – aims to help pharmacy staff unionize to address what many employees call unsafe staffing levels and increasing workloads throughout the industry, including at major drugstore chains such as Walgreens and CVS.”
According to the story, “The push to unionize, dubbed ‘The Pharmacy Guild,’ also calls for legislative and regulatory change to establish higher standards of practice in pharmacies to protect patients.
“Notably, the vast majority of pharmacists and technicians from Walgreens and CVS have no union representation, while pharmacy staff from a handful of grocery retailers such as Kroger do, according to Shane Jerominski, a walkout organizer who is helping to launch the effort through his pharmacy advocacy platform on social media, The Accidental Pharmacist.
“The push to organize staff who aren’t currently represented by a union only adds to what has been one of the most active years for the U.S. labor movement in recent history.”
In what may or may not be a related story, Crain’s Chicago Business reports that “Walgreens Boots Alliance is laying off 267 employees, its second round of corporate staff reductions in recent months … None of the affected jobs are at Walgreens’ stores, micro-fulfillment centers or call centers.”
KC’s View:
While I’m not sure that a union will solve all the pharmacists’ problems, it probably couldn’t hurt.
Anyone who has gone to a chain drug store and had to deal with pharmacists knows that these places are woefully understaffed, and even the people who are there often seem under-trained (especially when it comes to customer service).
The big drug chains keep talking about their healthcare ambitions, but if they can’t get what should be a core competency right, they have no business trying to extend their footprint into other areas.
The post Union Looks To Organize Retail Pharmacy Personnel appeared first on MNB.
View Original Article
