乌鸦传媒

Shortly after CVS pharmacists in Las Vegas became the first to join a pharmacy union last month, their counterparts at two retail locations in Rhode Island have voted to do the same.

The pair of successful votes came from pharmacy professionals at 24-hour CVS stores in Wakefield and Westerly, Rhode Island, the Pharmacy Guild announced. The locations are the first to unionize in the retail giant's home state.

"I think this is really reflective of the industry as a whole," a pharmacist at one of the latest stores told 乌鸦传媒, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "Everybody is really feeling the effects of short-staffing."

Efforts to organize kicked off in the wake of nationwide pharmacy walkouts last year, and "grew organically from there," the pharmacist said. Many of those working in the field believe unionizing is beneficial for both patients and the profession. "You can start with just one store."

The sentiments among pharmacists come amid a resurgence of unionization by physicians and other healthcare professionals across the country -- with new successes paving the way for others.

The Pharmacy Guild noted that victories in Rhode Island "mark the continuation of a historic wave of pharmacy organizing."

"These election results are the second and third union election wins by workers organizing with [the Pharmacy Guild] in just 4 weeks, as pharmacy professionals fight for a better industry for themselves and their patients," the union stated. "Workers say they began organizing in response to declining patient safety standards -- and that the union is their best vehicle for change," it added.

Though much of the publicity surrounding walkouts have centered on some of the biggest retail chains -- including CVS -- Shane Jerominski, PharmD, a community pharmacist and co-founder of the Pharmacy Guild, recently told 乌鸦传媒 that current interest and efforts are representative of pharmacy professionals from a variety of different practice settings, both large and small.

"We have 100 campaigns in various stages," Jerominski said last month.

As for CVS, the company stated: "We respect our employees' right to either unionize or refrain from doing so, including our Wakefield and Westerly pharmacists' decision to choose to be represented by a union. We're grateful for their participation and thank them for taking the time to ensure their voices were heard. This is the first of several steps in the collective bargaining process. If the vote results are confirmed by the NLRB [National Labor Relations Board], we'll negotiate in good faith with the union to try to reach an agreement."

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