{"id":11258,"date":"2023-11-08T18:27:20","date_gmt":"2023-11-08T18:27:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/business\/iam-healthcare-launches-campaign-to-unionize-retail-pharmacy-workers\/"},"modified":"2023-11-08T18:27:21","modified_gmt":"2023-11-08T18:27:21","slug":"iam-healthcare-launches-campaign-to-unionize-retail-pharmacy-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infundpros.com\/?p=11258","title":{"rendered":"IAM Healthcare launches campaign to unionize retail pharmacy workers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\n Retail pharmacy workers have told CNN that their employers have left them severely overworked and understaffed. These harsh working conditions, they say, make it difficult to safely fill prescriptions, which could put the health of their customers at risk. Now a formal unionization effort, backed by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) and pharmacy labor activists, is underway.\n <\/p>\n

\n The announcement comes after pharmacy labor advocates launched a series of walkouts at Walgreens and CVS stores in protest of what they called unjust labor conditions.\n <\/p>\n

\n The worker empowerment project, dubbed the Pharmacy Guild, will officially launch on Wednesday morning, the group told CNN.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThis is more than a union organizing effort,\u201d reads the Pharmacy Guild\u2019s founding statement. \u201cIt is 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 make real change.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Organizers said their efforts will target employees at CVS and Walgreens pharmacies and also extend to workers at all US retail pharmacies.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe want to find ways to help these pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to make the change that they want to see in their industry, specifically in the corporate retail giants where the problems are most acute,\u201d said a senior official at IAM Healthcare.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWhen it comes to the legal knowledge, and navigation of the technical process of filing for union recognition for an election, that\u2019s something that we can offer help with,\u201d they added. \u201cThere are so many pharmacy workplaces in the United States and so this will be a labor-intensive process. That\u2019s also something we\u2019re prepared to help them with.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Workers at Walgreens and CVS staged three separate walkouts across the country this fall to demand the companies fix what employees say are harsh working conditions that make it difficult for them to safely fill prescriptions, which could put the health of their customers at risk. Those work actions closed a handful of pharmacies briefly and slowed business at several others.\n <\/p>\n

\n But there is a difference between a loose group of workers informally joining together to protest a cause, and a full-fledged union, which has legal protections, a vast network of members ready to mobilize and a knowledgable support staff who can assist with logistics. The grassroots organizers had difficulty organizing the large-scale walkout without institutional support, and failed to rally pharmacy workers on a significant level.\n <\/p>\n

\n At the time, Walgreens told CNN the impact had been \u201cminimal\u201d and that the company was focused on improving the workplace for pharmacy staff.\n <\/p>\n

\n A representative from Walgreens added that \u201cwe are engaged and listening to the concerns raised by some of our team members. We are committed to ensuring that our entire pharmacy team has the support and resources necessary to continue to provide the best care to our patients while taking care of their own wellbeing.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n CVS told CNN that executives were \u201cfocused on developing a sustainable, scalable action plan that can be put in place in markets where support may be needed so we can continue delivering the high-quality care our patients depend on.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n But IAM, which has about 700,000 members across North America, characterized the walkouts as an essential first step towards unionization.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe walkouts have been a very distinct call,\u201d said the IAM Healthcare official. \u201cWe think that there are opportunities to take this movement to the next level, beyond walkouts. To actually build infrastructure for an organization.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Dr. Shane Jerominski, an independent pharmacist\u00a0who runs The Accidental Pharmacist account on Facebook and helped organize the initial walkouts, told CNN that they didn\u2019t result in many store closures because employees didn\u2019t have the legal protection that union campaigns offer. \u201cPeople were worried about retaliation and putting their jobs on the line,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n IAM Healthcare is partnering with Jerominski, alongside Dr. Bled Tanoe, a pharmacist who launched a campaign advocating for fair treatment of pharmacists on social media using the hashtag #PizzaIsNotWorking, and Dr. Maurice Shaw, a pharmacist who runs the popular RXComedy social media account that posts pharmacy-related memes and news stories, to launch the union drive.\n <\/p>\n

\n Together those accounts have more than <\/strong>300,000 followers.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere is mass dissatisfaction with the state of the pharmacy right now,\u201d Jerominski, who previously worked for Walgreens, told CNN. \u201cChange is necessary,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we don\u2019t have some sort of national backing, some sort of means of organizing to cause regulatory change, then we will continue to have those problems in the industry.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Jerominski says his current goal is to have 100,000 retail pharmacy workers fill out a form saying they\u2019re interested in unionizing. \u201cI don\u2019t want there to be any more walkouts. This was always about patient safety and access to safe patient care. This is the next step. This is organizing and this is forcing [retail pharmacists] to enact change.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The Pharmacy Guild issued a mission statement on Wednesday highlighting three major demands and goals: Staffing and workload standards to ensure safe patient care, representation and collective bargaining for pharmacy professionals in workplaces across the country and legislative and regulatory action to protect patients and to advance standards of professional practice.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThis is a long term project,\u201d said the IAM Healthcare official. \u201cWe\u2019ve heard the call, we\u2019ve heard the demand from pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. This is a challenge to them to follow up and take the next step. This effort starts immediately and it will continue for years to come.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n In a statement to CNN, Walgreens spokesperson Fraser Engerman said that the company is \u201cfully committed to ensuring the contributions of our pharmacists are acknowledged and rewarded, including competitive pay and benefits.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Walgreens, he said, \u201crespects the right of our people to choose to be represented by a union but we continue to believe the best way to accomplish meaningful results is through the direct relationship between our team members and their managers. And the vast majority of our team members agree.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n CVS spokesperson Amy Thibault told CNN that the company is making \u201ctargeted investments\u201d to address their pharmacy teams\u2019 concerns.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cOur goal is to develop a sustainable and scalable action plan to support both our pharmacists and our customers so we can continue delivering the high-quality care our patients depend on,\u201d she said.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe have productive relationships with unions who represent thousands of our colleagues across the country and respect our employees\u2019 right to either unionize or refrain from doing so,\u201d she added.\n <\/p>\n

\n A number of other US unions represent retail pharmacy workers.\n <\/p>\n

\n United Healthcare Workers East represents nearly 5,000 pharmacists and pharmacy techs in hospitals and retail pharmacies. The United Food and Commercial workers also represent retail pharmacy staff but do not share official membership numbers.\n <\/p>\n

\n Both unions publicly supported the previous walkouts.\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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