United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) represented CVS Pharmacy employees across seven locations in Los Angeles and Orange County and reached a tentative contract agreement after bargaining sessions on Oct. 23.
Workers began striking on Oct. 18 for better pay, staffing conditions and health benefits in lieu of the previous three-year worker contract’s expiration in June. Strikes concluded on Oct. 21.
Union members will next vote on the agreement for enactment. The new agreement carries
“better wages, more secure staffing, and a more affordable healthcare plan,” according to the UFCW.
UFCW Local 770, which represents grocery store and pharmacy workers in the Los Angeles area, attributed the strike initiation to dissatisfaction with officials following a meeting held on Oct. 15. Describing staffing conditions, the Local’s communications director Heather Rutman told New University that the company has pushed for its pharmacy technicians to give vaccinations outside of their normal work duties.
“They’re on their feet all day. They’re being pushed to do more and more,” Rutman said. “They shouldn’t be asking pharmacy technicians to just give vaccinations and then not adequately compensate for it.”
The two UFCW local chapters, UFCW 770 and 324 announced the impending strike after union members voted to allow an unfair labor practice strike “if necessary” on Sept. 29 with more than 90% in favor. Stakeholders filed the charges in August, alleging company surveillance of union-active employees and lack of corporate cooperation with union negotiations.
Hundreds of employees joined picket lines outside of their workplaces with red and white signs stating “CVS Employees on Unfair Labor Practice Strike. Please respect our picket lines.”
CVS External Communications Director Amy Thibault provided New University with a written statement on the company’s stance and a summary of the negotiated employee benefits, stating that over a dozen negotiation sessions had been held in recent months.
“Over the course of these discussions, we’ve made progress on finalizing a contract and have already reached tentative agreements that will increase the rate of pay for store associates,” Thibault said. “In addition, we’ve agreed not to reduce any benefit [employees] currently have and offered to increase the amount of money CVS Health contributes toward the cost of health insurance for those enrolled in company-sponsored health insurance.”
New University obtained a UFCW CVS bargaining committee statement representing their stance. UFCW Local 770, which participated in the strike, serves as a part of a bargaining committee with seven other UFCW locals — which represent 7,000 CVS workers across the state of California.
“We are grateful for the solidarity and strength our co-workers have shown throughout negotiations as well as the overwhelming support we have received from our customers and community members during our strike,” the statement read. “Today proves that when workers fight, we win. We look forward to discussing the details of this agreement with our co-workers before we make our voices heard during the voting process.”
Members and corporate officials had been in negotiations since May.
Angela Brooks, a shift supervisor at a Los Angeles CVS location, made a statement released by UFCW Local 770.
“Last year, I was physically and violently attacked by one of three masked individuals who stole money from the cash register, and like many of my co-workers, I don’t feel safe in my store anymore,” Brooks said.
In 2021 CVS announced plans to close 900 stores and announced planned layoffs of 2,900 workers this month to reduce company costs by $2 billion. The drugstore chain is operated under the scope of the CVS Health conglomerate, which also manages insurance company Aetna.
“CVS Health’s management team and Board of Directors are continually exploring ways to create shareholder value,” a CVS Health spokesperson said to CBS News. “We remain focused on driving performance and delivering high quality healthcare products and services enabled by our unmatched scale and integrated model.”
A survey conducted by UFCW 770 Local this year revealed 64% of CVS workers did not have a CVS health plan. 77% replied the company’s health plan was “unaffordable” due to their minimum-wage salaries, resulting in reliance on health coverage plans from family members or spouses and government programs like Medi-Cal.
Former CVS Health CEO Karen Lynch stepped down this year and was replaced by CVS Caremark president David Joyner after a 19% drop in company shares.
In 2021, the company looked to hire full and part-time pharmacy technician employees to deliver COVID-19 vaccinations across 40,000 CVS locations, CNBC News reported.
Pharmacy technicians are required to complete a CVS Technician Training program with necessary licensing and registration. CVS Pharmacy technicians make $24.90 an hour after 5 years of employment and are required to complete certification. The union alleges that these salaries are not high enough to afford the company-offered health plan.
The tentative agreement will not be made public until union members vote on the new contract. More information can be found on the UFCW Local 770 website.
Katherine Nava is a News Staff writer. She can be reached at navakl@uci.edu.