Dear friend,
Pharmacists are working on the frontline of this pandemic, yet CVS and Walgreens are leaving them without protection.
Things have gotten so bad, pharmacy workers are using shower curtains to protect themselves and building barriers with their own materials and money.1 They are being forced to choose between a paycheck and going to work sick.2 This leaves ALL of us at risk.
But we've seen what happens when enough UltraViolet members stand up to corporate giants like Netflix and CBS--we win.3,4 CVS and Walgreens are two of the biggest retail giants in the country, with BILLIONS in revenue.5 There is no excuse for their inaction. And if enough of us raise our voices again, we can win again. Will you demand CVS and Walgreens protect pharmacists?
Tell CVS and Walgreens :
"Stop leaving pharmacists without protection !"
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We know that women are disproportionately impacted as workers on the frontline--women make up a majority of essential workers, and a majority of pharmacists nationwide are women.6,7 Make no mistake about it--this is a gender justice issue.
And despite caring for sick people all day--and making sure that all of us have the prescriptions we need during this time of shelter-in-place--pharmacists are left without personal protective equipment, without adequate paid sick leave, and without additional time or staff to regularly disinfect stores at CVS and Walgreens.
Instead of supporting these essential workers, CVS and Walgreens keep bungling their response. Recently, CVS even sent advice in an email to its 300,000 employees full of misinformation, like the idea that drinking warm water will kill the coronavirus.8
And after employee outcry, CVS and Walgreens finally started offering paid sick days to employees. The problem ? Only pharmacists who test positive for COVID-19 can get paid days off, and everyone knows there is a shortage of tests and varying policies around the country about who is eligible for testing. Not to mention wait time for test results. This means that pharmacists at both chains are continuing to get sick and forced to go without pay or go to work even though they don't feel well or are taking care of sick family members at home.9
But it's clear that CVS and Walgreens care about their public image. As more and more pharmacists speak out, the retail giants are being forced to respond. If thousands of us ramp up the pressure, we can get these frontline workers the equipment they need and policies to keep us all safer.
Thanks for speaking out !
Shaunna, Kat, Kathy, Anathea, Melody, Pam, Lindsay, Sonja, Kimberly, Maria, and Katie, the UltraViolet team .
Sources :
1. From CVS to Walgreens, pharmacy workers seek protection against coronavirus in their stores, Boston Globe, April 3, 2020
2. Pharmacy Workers Are Coming Down With COVID-19. But They Can’t Afford to Stop Working., ProPublica, April 9, 2020
3. Former CBS CEO Les Moonves loses his $120M golden parachute, UltraViolet "Our Impact", accessed April 20, 2020
4. Streaming service threatens to rethink investment after abortion restriction, Newsweek, May 30, 2019
5. How millions of women became the most essential workers in America, Boston Globe, April 18, 2020
6. Chart: The percentage of men and women in each profession, Boston Globe, March 6, 2017
7. Pressure's On CVS As Walgreens' U.S. Pharmacy Sales Rise, Forbes, Jan 4, 2018
8. CVS’s Chief Medical Officer Sent All Employees an Email With Coronavirus Misinformation, Mother Jones, March 16, 2020
9. Pharmacy Workers Are Coming Down With COVID-19. But They Can’t Afford to Stop Working., ProPublica, April 9, 2020
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