Walgreens workers staged a walkout Monday, with another planned for Wednesday, over drug and staffing shortages.
It is unclear exactly how many workers were involved in the walkout protest, with organizers suggesting it took place at 300 of the nation’s 9,000 locations, according to The Associated Press (AP). A spokesperson for the company said “no more than a dozen” pharmacies experienced a disruption to service.
The walkouts were planned over short-staffing, leading to overworked employees, as well as unmet demands for additional healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s led to upset customers,” one of the organizers told The AP. “It’s led to medication errors, vaccination errors, needle sticks.”
Most Walgreens staff members aren’t unionized. Those who took part in the protest are apparently organizing to change that, and are focusing on three main areas of improvement: improvements to transparency on shifts and schedules, better training, and adjustments to tasks and expectations based on store requirements.
Walgreens workers join a slew of other healthcare industry professionals staging protests and walkouts over safety issues, pay, and other concerns. (RELATED: The Last Time Hollywood Writers Went On Strike, Trump Got Elected President. Yes, Really)
During an interview with Daily Caller’s Malik Lahrim, workers from Kaiser Permanente said they were sick of being understaffed. “It’s simply unsafe,” one pharmacist told Lahrim, explaining how she has to fill hundreds of prescriptions an hour.