“Frustrated and burned out.” Pharmacies and pharmacists hit a milestone filing a federal petition to join The Pharmacy Guild and asking for new elections at a CVS Omnicare pharmacy in Las Vegas, in order to confirm the newborn Guild’s power. The final goal is to improve working conditions inside retail chains.
Despite not being a public-facing pharmacy, like the majority of the CVS’s over 9,600 locations in Nevada, the Omnicare site organizers said they have sufficient numbers to win the elections, USA TODAY reported.
Before approving the election, the National Labor Relations Board, responsible for supervising union activity, must initially pursue an agreement between the employees and their employer.
“It’s time to move away from the system of abuse and intimidation,” said Bled Tanoe, an Oklahoma pharmacist and a founding member of The Pharmacy Guild, to USA TODAY reporters. On the other hand, CVS’ executive director of corporate communications Michael DeAngelis replied, “We believe the direct, two-way relationship we have with our colleagues is the best way to resolve workplace concerns. We continually listen to our colleagues’ feedback which helps inform our programs and policies.” But they had not yet seen the petition.
At the beginning of November 2023, the Pharmacy Guild was born in the wake of a series of high-profile walkouts by CVS and Walgreens pharmacists. They claimed the critical conditions they were working in–understaffed and underpaid–worsened their performance and endangered the public’s safety, especially in crucial moments after the COVID-19 pandemic.
