On Monday, Thousands of Walgreens pharmacy staff across the country went on strike, alleging that poor working conditions are putting employees and patients at risk. Walgreens pharmacies closed as staff walked out citing harsh working conditions that make it difficult to safely fill prescriptions.
As per report, Walgreens walkout and closures were seen at some Walgreens locations in Arizona, Washington, Massachusetts and Oregon. Customers are posting to social media that other closures are taking place throughout the country.
Some Walgreens pharmacies closed, what’s happening?
Some stores are remaining open with a skeleton emergency crew. As per report Walgreens had asked regional leaders to mobilize and staff the pharmacies on Monday.
Many Walgreens pharmacies that are open are severely understaffed as the majority of their employees called out today. Some stores said they were able to operate only their drive-thru pharmacy Monday and others said they would be closing early due to a lack of staff.
Walgreens on the protest
Walgreens said in a statement that “a small number of our pharmacies are experiencing disruptions and we apologize for any inconvenience.” It added “working to return these pharmacies to regular operations as quickly as possible,” adding that the vast majority of pharmacies remain open.
A Walgreens representative said on Monday that the company understands “the immense pressures felt across the US in retail pharmacy right now,” and that they are “are engaged and listening to the concerns raised by some of our team members.”
There is no union leader to coordinate and publicly address the Walgreens strike or any other pharmacy strike. Instead, pharmacy employees are using platforms like Reddit and Facebook, as well as email and fliers, to plan walkouts.
Without a central organizing body, it is also difficult to confirm how many pharmacies will be closed. As per organizers, they had heard from well over 500 interested stores (out of approximately 9,000) across the country. Walgreens did not immediately respond to questions about the exact number of Walgreens pharmacies on strike.
Why Walgreens strike?
Walgreens pharmacy staff are on protest as they are burned out.
A survey conducted last year by the American Pharmacists Association and the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations, found that pharmacy staff are inundated with demands for prescriptions, shots and other services without sufficient or sufficiently trained staff to fulfill the orders. Meanwhile, they complain that they face harassment and bullying by some patients.
Also the management focuses too much on profit, facing constant disruptions to their workflow that prevent them from making decisions about how appropriate a treatment might be for a particular patient.
And when pharmacy workers take their complaints to management, they’ve fallen on deaf ears, as per the survey.
Why Walgreens strike matters?
Pharmacy employees are essential healthcare workers.
Wolters Kluwer’s Pharmacy Next survey found that 58% of Americans are likely to first seek non-emergency healthcare at pharmacies. More than 80% said they trust a pharmacist, nurse, or nurse practitioner to diagnose minor illnesses and prescribe medications to treat them.
“Pharmacies are becoming a front-line site for non-emergency care, particularly among younger generations,” said Dr. Peter Bonis, the chief medical officer at Wolters Kluwer Health.
CVS pharmacists also walked off the job
CVS recently had a walkout and talks are not over. In September, CVS pharmacists in the Kansas City area closed as many as 22 pharmacies in two walkouts over two weeks in a planned protest, prompting executives to meet with staff and assure them that additional support and higher overtime pay were coming.
What next for Walgreens?
Walgreens is working with pharmacy staff to fix the situation leading to protest.
In a statement, Walgreens acknowledged that pharmacy employees are overworked.
“The last few years have required an unprecedented effort from our team members, and we share their pride in this work — while recognizing it has been a very challenging time,” said Fraser Engerman, a spokesman for Walgreens. “We also understand the immense pressures felt across the US in retail pharmacy right now. We are engaged and listening to the concerns raised by some of our team members.”
Walgreens is “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 well-being,” added Engerman. “We are making significant investments in pharmacist wages and hiring bonuses to attract/retain talent in harder to staff locations.”
