A CVS Health pharmacy in Vegas becomes first to join new national pharmacy union

A


CVS
Omnicare
pharmacy
in
Las
Vegas
has
become
the

first
location
to
join
a
new

national
pharmacy
union,
a
milestone
for
organizers
trying
to
help
thousands
of
U.S.
pharmacy
workers
address
what
they
call

unsafe
working
conditions. 

Nearly
30
pharmacy
staff
at
the
Las
Vegas
branch
of
CVS’s
Omnicare

won
their
union
election
on
Thursday
by
a
landslide
margin
of
87%
to
13%,
according
to
a
press
release
from
the
guild.
The
pharmacists
and
pharmacy
technicians
there
fill
prescriptions
for
the
elderly
and
other
vulnerable
patients
at
long-term
care
facilities
across
Nevada. 

Those
workers
now
join

the
Pharmacy
Guild,
which
will
represent
them
in
labor
negotiations
with
CVS. 

“We’re
going
to
try
to
get
a
best-in-the-industry
contract
for
these
people
that
have
trusted
our
union
to
represent
them.
It’s
a
historic
win
and
a
very
decisive
one,”
Shane
Jerominski,
a
community
pharmacist
and
co-founder
of
the
Pharmacy
Guild,
told
CNBC.  

Jerominski
and
other
organizers
of
a
recent

nationwide
walkout
of
pharmacy
staff
partnered
with
IAM
Healthcare
–
a
union
representing
thousands
of
health-care
professionals
–
to

launch
the
Pharmacy
Guild
in
November.
That

work
stoppage
in
late
October,
which
organizers
dubbed “Pharmageddon,”
spanned
major
drugstore
chains
like
CVS,


Walgreens
and


Rite
Aid,
drawing
widespread
media
attention
to
the
scope
of
workers’
concerns.

Like
the
walkout
effort,
the
Pharmacy
Guild
aims
to
help
pharmacy
staff
address
what
many
employees
call
unsafe
staffing
levels
and
increasing
workloads
throughout
the
industry
that
put
both
employees
and
patients
at
risk.
The
guild
also
calls
for
legislative
and
regulatory
changes
to
establish
higher
standards
of
practice
in
pharmacies
to
protect
patients. 

The
unionization
effort
is
the
culmination
of
years
of
growing
discontent
among
retail
pharmacy
staff,
who
often
grapple
with
understaffed
teams
and
increasing
work
expectations
imposed
by
corporate
management.
The
Covid
pandemic
only
exacerbated
those
issues,
as
new
duties
like
testing
and
vaccination
stretched
pharmacists
and
technicians
even
thinner. 

In
a
statement,
a
CVS
Health
spokesperson
said
the
company
respects
its
employees’
right
to
unionize
or
refrain
from
doing
so,
including
the
decision
of
Omnicare
Las
Vegas
workers
to
choose
union
representation.
The
company
added
that
it
will
work “closely
and
collaboratively”
with
its
employees
to
address
their
current
and
future
concerns
and
is “committed
to
providing
a
positive
and
rewarding
work
environment.” 

Omnicare,
acquired
by
CVS
in
2015,
is
not
a
public-facing
pharmacy
like
most
of
the
chain’s
nearly
10,000
locations.
There
are
Omnicare
pharmacies
in
49
states,
according
to
CVS’s
website. 

But
Omnicare
and
other
pharmacies
share
the
same
issues
that
range
from
staffing
levels
to
low
starting
pay
for
technicians,
Jerominski
said. 

“It’s
not
specific
to
Omnicare,
the
problems
they
were
expressing
were
the
same
problems
I’m
hearing
across
the
country.
It’s
ubiquitous
across
all
major
chains,”
Jerominski
said. “You
can
only
ask
a
company
to
support
you
for
so
long.
…
This
is
the
reason
why
the
walkouts
happened.
They
finally
said ‘No,
we
are
going
to
get
the
help
that
we
demand.'” 

The
Pharmacy
Guild
will
now
work
to
strike
a
union
contract
with
CVS
to
address
the
concerns
of
Omnicare
workers
in
Las
Vegas.
Jerominski
said
those
employees
want
consistent
work
schedules
that
guarantee
pharmacy
technicians
40
hours
a
week
year-round.

“You
can’t
retain
individuals
with
a
skill
set
and
a
family,
especially
with
the
stress
level
that
this
job
has,
if
you
don’t
even
just
guarantee
them
their
40
hours,”
Jerominski
told
CNBC. 

The
Pharmacy
Guild
is
seeing
momentum
build
in
other
parts
of
the
country.
Pharmacy
staff
at
two
retail
stores
in
Rhode
Island
have
officially
confirmed
that
they
filed
to
unionize
with
the
guild,
according
to
Jerominski.

CVS’s
headquarters
is
based
in
the
state.