Why CVS Pharmacy Technicians Were on the Picket Line

Over the weekend, unionized pharmacy employees went on strike at seven CVS pharmacies in Southern California to protest the company's unfair labor practices (ULPs). In August, UFCW locals in California representing CVS workers filed unfair labor practice charges against CVS unlawful surveillance of workers, retaliation for union activities, and prohibition of worker participation in union activities. The company has been in negotiations with unions since May, trying to reach a tentative collective bargaining agreement for better wages and health insurance and safer staffing levels.

The average CVS clerk makes less than $20 an hour and cannot afford to buy insurance from CVS, which is also a health insurance company. CVS made $11 billion in profits in 2023 and paid its CEO over $21 million. According to MIT, the living wage for an adult with one child in California is $48.03.

“We are disappointed that our fellow UFCW members have gone on strike at seven locations in the greater Los Angeles area,” the company said in a statement. “Through these discussions, we have made progress towards finalizing a contract and have already reached tentative agreements that will increase the remuneration of store employees. We look forward to meeting again with the UFCW to continue negotiations and hope to finalize an agreement soon.”

I spoke with two CVS pharmacy technicians and UFCW 770 members, Marquis Jackson and Cecilia Menjivar, about why they went on strike and what they want to accomplish.

Errol Schweizer: Why were you on the picket lines?

Marquis Jackson: Basically, they are currently practicing a lot of unfair practices, in addition to not paying us a livable wage. I have people who have been working for this company for 10, 20 years. They don't even make $20 an hour. We have people like me, I'm a lead technician and supervisory technician at my pharmacy and I can't even afford their health insurance. I can't even afford the medication I take every day. We are in negotiations with CVS. CVS owns Caremark and Aetna, and they have steadfastly refused to help us get adequate healthcare. They're just telling us they're not interested, not that they can't.

Cecilia Menjivar: There is no security in some of these stores. One of the young women who gave a speech yesterday told how a gun was pointed at her head during a store robbery. CVS doesn't care. They are trying to intimidate the workers. They are trying to retaliate against workers who are strong within the union. They're trying to keep us from union representation and keep union representatives out of the stores.

Mistake: Could you tell us a little about the job itself, what you do in the branches?

Cecilia: It's about filling one prescription at a time, one at a time, one at a time. It's about numbers about numbers and adding the numbers. And at the end of the day, after two hours, after three to four hours, it's so mentally exhausting. It's not about our health. It's not about mental health. It's not about our safety. It's not about us as employees.

Marquis: With CVS, they are finding more and more opportunities to delegate pharmacy tasks to the technicians. I am a certified vaccinator. I shouldn't give any vaccinations. Pharmacists should administer vaccination. That should be a nurse's job. You allow me to do it. The thing is, they don't even want to pay me properly for it. They just want to pay me an extra $2.00 if I actually vaccinate. Giving someone a vaccination is no small thing. You can get the wrong person, the wrong vaccination. Something can go wrong. You are injecting injustice into someone. It can turn out really bad. They just treat it so lightly and so casually. And just thinking that an extra $2.00 every now and then is enough.

Cecilia: If someone dispenses a medication and the insurance doesn't cover it, we have to find a way to make the insurance happen. You don't learn that in school. You have to learn this practically. You have to go there and get experience, and it takes most people at least a year or two to actually figure out how to do the work, how to take medication regularly, and if not, then they're done dealing with patients to deal with the things that come to you in the worst moments. They're sick, they're tired. You went to the doctor. They might have gone to the emergency room. They spent the whole day doing it. Now they come to you and you're basically the last line of defense and the insurance hasn't come through. They are even angrier.

I've now completed my fifth year. So if you work in this position for five years, your salary as a pharmacy technician will be $24.90 for five years. It's not enough to cover the cost of living in California, it's not enough to cover my roof. It's a shameful hourly rate that I don't deserve for everything I do in a pharmacy, everything I endure in my heart. I build relationships with the community. I'm moving forward. I'm on the front line. I'm the face of CVS and to them I'm only worth $24.90.

Mistake: So the people who prescribe life-saving and life-sustaining medications earn half of what it takes to live in Southern California, one of the most expensive metropolitan areas in the United States. My question to both of you: What are you asking for? Why did you strike?

Marquis: I have people who have worked in this industry making less than $20 an hour when they can just stop and go to Carl's Junior or McDonald's or some other fast food place and they can start making $20 an hour right away hour to earn. We demand better wages, right? We don't want to get rich. We're not asking them to break the bank. We demand livable wages. We ask them to tell us what other people in our same positions, in different industries, in the same industry, in different pharmacies, do, what they make.

Cecilia: We want a livable wage. We want to make sure we can care for ourselves and our families when we get sick and whenever we need it. We want to be able to come to work safely. We want to have enough staff so that patients don't have to wait 20, 30, 40, 50 minutes for medication. We want to be able to have enough staff to not be stressed. We are not beaten down physically and mentally on a daily basis. All they care about is making sure they make money and that we hit our numbers. That means they don't give a damn about us.

Mistake: What does the future of the pharmacy industry look like?

Marquis: Basically, I've seen a lot of companies inflicting wounds on themselves. Essentially, they're putting themselves out of business because they tried to monopolize the system. We waste money by having pharmacies two blocks apart. One pharmacy eats up the next instead of having more profitable business. Now they basically have businesses right next to each other and aren't making the money they thought they were.

And when CVS took over Target's pharmacies, the techs were upset because they had purposefully distanced themselves from CVS and are now back with them. So CVS is basically their own worst enemy. If a good pharmacist had the chance to leave, they would be gone. They don't want to work there. They don't want to deal with the crap CVS puts them through. At places like Walgreens and Rite Aid they do the exact same thing.

You might as well go to Ralph's. You might as well go to Walmart. You might as well go to Kaiser. You might as well find another place that truly values ​​you as a customer and your money instead of going to a place like CVS that doesn't give a damn about you.

Cecilia: I speak Spanish. I actually do a lot of the pharmacist translations. I translate how the pharmacist tells them A, B and C and then I have to explain it in Spanish. I have to explain a consultation or drug interaction to them in Spanish, and there is no pay difference for me if I speak my own language and speak a client's language. There is no incentive for this.

Mistake: What can people do to support you?

Marquis: Stop shopping at CVS. If you need basic needs, go to another grocery store or union store. But please do not purchase any medications at CVS at all. They make all of their profits from flu shots and Covid-19 vaccinations. If they don't get their vaccinations, they go somewhere else. That means CVS doesn't make that money. This means they get hurt in the pocket. And when it hurts their pockets, they actually listen to us.

Cecilia: That's why we ask everyone to help us negotiate with your money. Take your business to another location, take your business to another union store, another union pharmacy, get vaccinated, get your basic needs met. There are tons of other shops you can visit.