A CVS in Las Vegas has become the first to join a new pharmacy union that launched in the wake of nationwide walkouts by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians last year.
Thirty staff members at CVS Omnicare Las Vegas — which fills prescriptions for Nevada’s nursing homes — voted 26-4 to join the Pharmacy Guild, according to filings from the National Labor Relations Board. CVS acquired the long-term care pharmacy chain in 2015.
The move follows nationwide walkouts last fall from pharmacists and technicians at some of the biggest drugstore chains in the U.S. over what they described as unsafe working conditions — what organizers had called “Pharmageddon.” Other pharmacies across the nation are expected to join the new pharmacy union as well.
“The solidarity displayed by pharmacy professionals in Las Vegas speaks volumes about their steadfast devotion to putting patient care ahead of corporate interests,” Shane Jerominski, PharmD, a community pharmacist and co-founder of the Pharmacy Guild, said in a statement. The new national union, an initiative of IAM Healthcare, is part of the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers.
Speaking with MedPage Today after the votes were tallied, Jerominski predicted more efforts to unionize would follow. “The response has just been overwhelming,” he said. “We have 100 campaigns in various stages.”
Among these, pharmacy professionals at two CVS corporate retail stores in Rhode Island are also seeking to unionize with the new national pharmacy union as well.
Much of the publicity surrounding walkouts and concerns over working conditions has centered on some of the biggest retail chains, including CVS, but Jerominski noted that current interest and efforts are representative of pharmacy professionals from a variety of different practice settings, both large and small.
For pharmacists, safe staffing levels are a primary focus, Jerominski said. They are concerned that short staffing can contribute to the potential for medication errors, harmful to both patients and the livelihoods of pharmacists themselves.
As for pharmacy technicians, Jerominski pointed to a rate of pay “far too low for the skillset they possess.” Pharmacies should be focused on retaining technicians rather than retraining them, he said. High turnover of pharmacy technicians places significant pressure on pharmacists to not only “do their job safely, but to fill in the gaps,” he said. “Technicians can make or break pharmacies across the country.”
In a statement, CVS Pharmacy said that, “Since 2021, we’ve invested roughly $1 billion in wage increases and, in 2024, we’re awarding tens of millions of dollars in bonuses to recognize and thank our pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.”
“We’re enabling pharmacy teams to schedule additional support as needed, enhancing recruitment and strengthening pharmacy technician training,” according to the statement. “We’re also introducing innovative tools to support workload and workflow, enabling our pharmacy teams to better focus on patient care.”
In a statement issued following the vote in Las Vegas, CVS said, “We respect our employees’ right to either unionize or refrain from doing so, including our Omnicare Las Vegas colleagues’ decision to choose union representation.”
“While we believe the direct, two-way relationship we have with our colleagues is the best way to resolve workplace concerns, we have professional and productive relationships with our thousands of union employees and their union representatives,” the statement continued. “We’ll continue to work closely and collaboratively with all our colleagues to address any concerns they have now and in the future and are committed to providing a positive and rewarding work environment.”
The efforts by the Pharmacy Guild come amid a resurgence of interest in unionization by physicians and other healthcare professionals nationwide.
Though right now the Pharmacy Guild is focused squarely on labor issues, Jerominski said that sights are also set on broader industry issues. “Our long-term vision is to have an organization and enough members to tackle all of the problems that exist within pharmacy.”
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Jennifer Henderson joined MedPage Today as an enterprise and investigative writer in Jan. 2021. She has covered the healthcare industry in NYC, life sciences and the business of law, among other areas.
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