Walgreens pharmacy staffers stage walkouts over work conditions

Walgreens pharmacy staff in some stores around the country walked off the job this week over concerns that working conditions are putting employees and patients at risk.

The exact scale of the pharmacists' protest was unclear. Organizers on Tuesday estimated that more than 300 Walgreens locations — out of nearly 9,000 nationwide — were affected by walkouts planned for Monday through Wednesday. A company spokesperson said “no more than a dozen” pharmacies experienced disruptions.

While there were no reports of New York pharmacies affected, the Pharmacists Society of the State of New York agreed with the protesters' grievances.

“The Pharmacists Society of the State of New York stands in solidarity with pharmacists who have walked out of their positions rather than risk patient safety due to untenable working conditions," a PSSNY statement said. It urged state regulators and lawmakers to address the situation.

"First and foremost, pharmacists are health-care professionals and they cannot uphold their commitment to care for their patients if working conditions jeopardize their ability to safely dispense medications,” the statement said.

A Walgreens pharmacy manager who helped organize the walkouts told The Associated Press that teams were short-staffed and overworked, especially with the additional demands from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s led to upset customers,” said the organizer, who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity for fear of company reprisal “It’s led to medication errors, vaccination errors, needle sticks.”

Many Walgreens workers aren't unionized and the employees who walked out are organizing online. They shared three main requests for the company, the organizer said: to improve transparency about shifting hours and schedules; to set aside training hours for new team members; and to adjust tasks and expectations at each location based on staffing levels.

The organizer said if Walgreens does not address staff issues, more walkouts could happen at the end of the month.

Walgreens spokesman Fraser Engerman said the company is listening to the employees' concerns.

“We are 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,” Engerman said in a statement.

Tim Wentworth, who formerly headed Express Scripts, a pharmacy benefit manager, was named CEO as of Oct. 23. Walgreens Boots Alliance's former CEO, Rosalind Brewer, stepped down in late August as the company was struggling with drug and staffing shortages.

Brewer, who left in late August, had said the company was limiting hours at 1,100 pharmacies, or about 12% of its U.S. locations.

With Tory N. Parrish

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