Dozens of employees at a CVS specialty pharmacy in Redlands filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board seeking to hold a union election.
The decision last week to organize by 135 workers at the pharmacy that provides medications to patients with complex and chronic conditions is the largest such move in a broader campaign to unionize pharmacy workers across the U.S. by the Pharmacy Guild, a labor group that was launched in March. The Redlands CVS is also the first workplace in California to join the campaign.
In a statement, the guild said employees at the Redlands pharmacy, who often handle medications with strict temperature controls and short shelf lives, are being pressured to cut corners in ways that compromise patient care. Their patients rely on medications for serious conditions, including cancer and autoimmune diseases, the union said.