CVS, Walgreens Pharmacists Plan to Walk Out Over Work Conditions

After brain surgery to remove a tumor, Robert Senter must take daily medication to prevent violent seizures. But it’s often hard to get his refills on time at the CVS pharmacy where he buys his medicine.

Senter, of Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, says there’s often a prescription backlog — an issue pharmacists say is caused by insufficient staffing and workers overburdened by unattainable performance metrics. Indeed, more than 2,000 US pharmacists plan to walk off the job this week to pressure national drugstore chains to address poor working conditions, according to organizers.

Dubbed Pharmageddon, the walkouts follow similar actions last ...