Some Walgreens Pharmacy Workers Say They are Planning Another Walkout. Here are Their Reasons Why

New York
CNN
Some pharmacy workers at Walgreens, one of the nation’s largest drugstore chains, say they are planning another walkout at the end of October, and organizers are hoping this time the protest spreads nationwide.

Workers have already been staging walkouts in scattered cities to protest working conditions that they say put customer safety at risk. The actions so far this month closed a handful of pharmacies briefly, and slowed business at several others; Walgreens told CNN the impact has been “minimal.”

Now some pharmacy staff and organizers in multiple states have confirmed to CNN that they’re planning another walkout, and picket lines, with a window from October 30 to November 1 to protest staffing levels and other issues.

Shane Jerominski, an independent pharmacist who used to work for Walgreens and is one of the walkout’s organizers, told CNN that he has been working with representatives from unions to plan demonstrations beginning the day before Halloween – a particularly busy time for pharmacy chains as cold and flu season begins and demand for vaccinations soars.

A spokesperson from the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union told CNN that they support the organizers planning a walkout and protests. So does SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West.

“Health care workers and consumers are experiencing unprecedented strain caused by understaffing by health care corporations,” Renée Saldaña, press secretary of UHW-West Health, said in a statement to CNN. “We support all health care workers who are organizing and taking a stance to improve staffing.”

Organizers told CNN that they’re still holding out hope that Walgreens will work with them to reach a solution to problems they say range from understaffing to a rapidly expanding workload to low pay.

In a statement to CNN, Walgreens said about 20 stores out of about 9,000 had “disruptions over three days,” Oct. 9-11. Walgreens walkout organizers told CNN that their tally is much higher, with about 600 employees participating.

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