Nearly 7,000 workers, represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), walked off their jobs on Friday.
Union members authorized the strike in September after negotiating with CVS since May. The contract representing California’s CVS workers expired June 30. According to UFCW, the organization intentionally did not agree to a contract extension because it would have prevented the workers from going on strike.
The union also filed unfair labor practice charges against CVS for allegedly unlawful surveillance of workers, retaliation for union activity, and prohibition of employees from engaging in union activity.
“We sincerely hope that CVS’s new CEO David Joyner will reverse the disrespect workers have been feeling at work and in negotiations, and sit down with us and bargain in good faith to give workers the wages, health care, and safer stores they and their customers deserve,” UFCS Local 324 President Andrea Zinder said in a statement on Monday.
The union is ready to walk out again, if negotiations stall, according to the statement.
Workers walked picket lines over the weekend outside stores in Los Alamitos, Anaheim, and Buena Park.
Negotiations between the union and the corporation will continue on Wednesday, according to CVS Spokeswoman Amy Thibault.
“We’re pleased that UFCW union member colleagues at seven Los Angeles-area stores have decided to return to work,” Thibault told The Epoch Times in an email.
The company has held more than a dozen negotiating sessions with the union since May, she said.
The two sides have reached tentative agreements that would increase the rate of pay for store associates, with additional increases for those with more than five and 10 years of service, Thibault said.
“There’s more to do, but we’re committed to working together and hope to finalize an agreement soon,” Thibault said.
According to the UFCW, the union’s list of demands includes wage increases, affordable health insurance, and safe store staffing levels.
The union asserts that CVS clerks make less than $20 an hour and can’t afford to buy insurance from CVS. Pharmacy technicians make only $24.90 per hour after five years, even though they are required to complete an extensive company training program and get registered, licensed, and certified by the state, according to UFCW.
Workers at a competing retail pharmacy group in California are also considering a strike, UFCW said. Nearly 3,500 Rite Aid workers throughout California authorize a strike on Friday, should it become necessary.
