CVS pharmacy workers demonstrated outside the company's Wakefield, R.I., store Oct. 23 to demand a first union contract with staffing and workload protections, more than two years after the Pharmacy Guild announced organizing victories in Wakefield and Westerly.

The workers' public statements describe a dispute over the conditions under which prescriptions are checked and patients receive care. Pharmacists and technicians say they need enough time and staff to meet those responsibilities, and they want protections written into an enforceable agreement.

In a recording of the demonstration published by Steve Ahlquist, Wakefield pharmacist Chris Eggeman called on CVS executives to settle a first contract and provide the resources pharmacy professionals need. Chris Desrochers, a Wakefield pharmacy technician and bargaining committee member, said the Rhode Island group had been negotiating since 2024.

"Pharmacy professionals need the time, staffing, and resources to do our jobs well," Desrochers told the crowd. Desrochers said the contract should include safe staffing and workload standards, fair and transparent compensation, respect for workers' right to organize and protections that help them care for patients.

In the recording, Desrochers said staffing is stretched and workloads keep growing. Desrochers accused CVS negotiators of stalling instead of resolving safe staffing and compensation issues.

Desrochers also pointed to a summer vote to sanction a strike as evidence of members' willingness to keep pressing the company. No speaker in the recording announced a strike date.

The Pharmacy Guild's May 29, 2024, announcement identified Wakefield and Westerly as the first CVS corporate retail stores in Rhode Island to win elections with the organization. It described both as round-the-clock pharmacies at the time. The guild is an initiative of IAM Healthcare, part of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

The union's 2024 announcement attributed the organizing drive to concerns about patient safety. In that announcement, Eggeman said workers wanted a collective bargaining agreement and a voice to speak for patients and the profession. The announcement also said two additional groups of Rhode Island pharmacy professionals had filed to unionize with the guild that week.

The historical announcement describes election victories, while the October demonstration concerns the next stage: reaching a first agreement.

Six State Signal emailed CVS Health at 11:41 p.m. Oct. 27 about workers' staffing and workload concerns, the status of Rhode Island bargaining and whether a strike was scheduled. A follow-up at 12:09 a.m. Oct. 28 set a 5 p.m. Eastern response deadline and invited requests for more time. CVS had not responded as of 5:11 p.m. Eastern Oct. 28.

Sources: Oct. 23 rally recording and accompanying worker statements; Pharmacy Guild's May 29, 2024, election announcement.