This is the first time workers outside of a standalone CVS location have demanded union recognition, the Guild said in a Jan. 24 news release shared with Becker’s. In response to the Target CVS pharmacy’s union filing, a CVS spokesperson said that the company respects its employees’ unionization decisions.
“We believe the direct, two-way relationship we have with our colleagues is the best way to resolve workplace concerns and we continually listen to their feedback to help inform our programs and policies,” the spokesperson said. “We’re continually investing in our pharmacy teams’ wages and working conditions.”
In March 2024, about 30 pharmacists and pharmacy technicians at a Las Vegas CVS Omnicare became the first location to organize with the Guild. Since then, workers at three CVS locations in Rhode Island, a Walgreens in Washington state and a specialty pharmacy in California have sought to join the national union. There have been 12 filings, as of Jan. 24.
The Guild was created in 2023 after sparse walkouts of retail pharmacy employees across the U.S. In the fall that year, an unknown but small number of pharmacy workers at CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid locations walked out to protest understaffing and heavy workloads, which grassroots organizers said were compromising patient care.
