CVS workers strike at 7 California locations to demand better pay, health care
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Workers at seven CVS pharmacies in Southern California are now on strike, demanding better wages and health care and protesting what they describe as the company engaging in unfair contract negotiations.
The strike began on Friday and continued through the weekend, affecting four stores in Los Angeles and three in Orange County. Striking workers outside the Los Angeles area told their customers Saturday not to fall in line, according to the Associated Press.
Melissa Acosta, a pharmacy technician on the contract negotiation committee, said the company “intimidates workers, watches them, prevents them from talking to union representatives,” the newspaper reported.
Despite the strike, the affected CVS locations remain open and staffed with non-union management and workers.
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Workers at seven CVS pharmacies in Southern California are now on strike, demanding better wages and health care. (Photos by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The workers plan to continue the strike until contract negotiations with the company resume on Wednesday.
The strike was approved when more than 90 percent of two local unions, the United Food and Commercial Workers, voted in favor on Sept. 29, according to the Associated Press.
“We are disappointed that our UFCW member partners have gone on strike at several locations in the Los Angeles area,” CVS spokeswoman Amy Thibault said in a statement.
Thibault said the company has made progress on the last contract and has reached agreements to raise wages and increase company health insurance contributions.
Acosta said she can’t afford the insurance offered by CVS, so she’s enrolled in the state-run Covered California program.
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The workers plan to continue the strike until contract negotiations with the company resume on Wednesday. (Photos by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
“In the nine years I’ve worked with CVS, I’ve never been able to afford their health care plan,” she said.
Pharmacy chains across the country have struggled with costs and online competition.
CVS Health CEO Karen Lynch recently resigned, as shares fell 19%. CVS is nearing the end of a three-year plan to close 900 stores.
The company’s pharmacy technicians, who must complete an extensive training program and meet licensing requirements, currently make $24.90 an hour after five years on the job, the union said.
Carlos Alfaro, a technician on strike, said stores are understaffed as the flu season begins, according to the Associated Press.
CVS pharmacy technicians currently make $24.90 an hour after five years on the job, the union said. (Photos by Paul Weaver/SOPA/LightRocket via Getty Images/Getty Images)
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“We have to make a phone call [patients] always getting a flu shot, pushing vaccines,” Alfaro said. “This is a lot more work that we’re expected to do, in addition to filling the pharmacy.”
Many stores have been closing items in an effort to prevent theft, forcing customers to ask staff to open items such as soap and laundry detergent.
“There are too many customers who don’t get help and have to wait all the time for something to open,” said Acosta. “They think we just don’t want to help them, when in fact the company doesn’t give us enough staff to be able to provide excellent customer service.”
The workers also made other demands, including a request for better store security.
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