WOONSOCKET, R.I. — Pharmacy professionals at two CVS retail stores in Rhode Island have officially filed to unionize with The Pharmacy Guild, which is part of a national effort to organize the chain’s workforce.
Workers at pharmacies located in Westerly and in the Wakefield section of South Kingstown filed their petitions to the National Labor Relations Board, according to Guild officials. The actions come three weeks after workers at CVS Omnicare Las Vegas, where professionals fill prescriptions for nursing homes, announced it was seeking to unionize.
Guild officials say understaffing at these retail stores has reached a “crisis level” for pharmacies across the US, as the industry faces severe shortages.
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“My coworkers and I are unionizing with The Pharmacy Guild so we can have a voice to advocate for the best care outcomes possible for our patients,” said one pharmacy professional active in the CVS Rhode Island organizing, in a press release sent by the Guild on Tuesday morning. “By unionizing stores in Rhode Island, we’re sending a direct message to CVS and the industry at large that frontline pharmacy professionals will continue taking direct action to reform our industry for the protection of our patients.”
Pharmacy workers were not identified in The Guild’s press release, and have requested to remain anonymous due to fear of potential retaliation, according to Jeffrey Hall, a spokesman for the union.
In a statement to the Globe on Tuesday, Mike DeAngelis, a spokesman for Woonsocket-based CVS Health, said the company respects “employees’ right to either unionize or refrain from doing so.”
DeAngelis said the company has invested about $1 billion in wage increases since 2021, and in 2024, is awarding tens of millions of dollars in bonuses to “recognize and thank our pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.”
The corporate owners of retail store pharmacies have faced criticism for what some workers call “unsafe staffing levels.” In late 2023, pharmacy workers from stores owned by Walgreens, Rite Aid, and CVS staged a three-day walk-out to call for better working conditions, and the movement was dubbed “pharmageddon.”
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The Pharmacy Guild is an initiative by IAM Healthcare, and is the country’s only union dedicated to organizing and representing pharmacy professionals across employers. Union officials said they plan to fight to secure safe staffing levels.
CVS is in the process of introducing “innovative tools to support workload and workflow, enabling our pharmacy teams to better focus on patient care,” DeAngelis said.
“We believe the direct, two-way relationship we have with our colleagues is the best way to resolve workplace concerns,” added DeAngelis. “We continually listen to our colleagues’ feedback, which helps inform our programs and policies.”
Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.