SOUTH KINGSTOWN – Dozens of participants, including state lawmakers, joined pharmacists and pharmacy technicians from around the state outside CVS in Wakefield on Oct. 23 to rally against what they allege are unfair working conditions and bad-faith bargaining by the health care giant that calls Rhode Island its home.
Pharmacy technicians at the Wakefield store, along with those at the Middletown location and two CVS pharmacies in Westerly, unionized two years ago. Now, as members of The Pharmacy Guild and IAM, a national union of healthcare professionals, local workers have been fighting for a first contract since 2024. They say the process has been impacted by CVS executives engaging in bad-faith negotiation tactics, such as withholding raises for eligible individuals since the process started…