Pharmageddon: Pharmacists begin third walk out in exhibition of labor unrest in America

Amid an ongoing auto workers’ strike and after a 148-day Hollywood writers’ strike, now pharmacists have organized the third walk-out in more than a month.

Dubbed “Pharmageddon,” Reuters reports that some staff from CVS stores in Kansas City were on a two-day strike in September and Walgreens store employees were on strike in early October.

Now employees at CVS Health Corp and Walgreens Boots Alliance’s U.S. pharmacies launched a three-day walkout starting today. They want improvement of working conditions and more staff.

“Some of these stores are so grossly understaffed at the moment and just bogged down with not only prescriptions but the amount of immunization appointments and walk-ins that they’re expected to do,” Shane Jerominski, a former Walgreens pharmacist and one of the organizers of the walkout, told Reuters.

Jerominski estimated that as many as 5,000 pharmacy workers would walk out across the three days, but an exact number of affected stores and participating staff is unknown because employees are not union members.

Pharmacy staff in New York and Pennsylvania planned to participate, including employees of Walgreens’ Duane Reade stores in New York, according to Jerominski.

Rallies outside CVS’ headquarters at Woonsocket, Rhode Island and at Walgreens at Deerfield, Illinois are planned by pharmacists, according to social media posts.

Jerominski said the organizers seek better pay and more consistent hours for technicians, who locate, dispense, pack and label prescribed medication for patients under the supervision of pharmacists.

A CVS spokesperson said leaders were connected with pharmacists to address concerns and engage in dialogue. Walgreens said it has taken steps to help its pharmacy teams “concentrate on providing optimal patient care.”

“Our ongoing efforts are focused on how we recruit, retain and reward our pharmacy staff,” a Walgreens spokesperson told Reuters.

The largest recorded medical worker walkout by Kaiser Permanente employees in early October 2023 is also part of a larger picture of labor unrest in the United States.