CVS Workers Strike At 7 Southern California Stores For Better Pay, Healthcare

Workers at seven CVS pharmacies in Southern California have gone on strike, demanding better pay, improved healthcare, and protesting what they claim are bad-faith contract negotiations by the company, Jaime Ding reported for the Associated Press (AP).

The CVS workers plan to continue picketing until negotiations resume on Wednesday. I Photo: UFCW Local 135 Facebook

The strike, which impacted four stores in Los Angeles and three in Orange County, began Friday morning and extended into the weekend. On Saturday, outside one of the Los Angeles stores, strikers urged customers not to cross the picket lines.

Melissa Acosta, a pharmacy technician and member of the contract bargaining committee, accused CVS of "intimidating workers, observing them, and interfering with their communication with union representatives."

Despite the strike, the affected CVS locations remained open, staffed by managers and non-union employees.

The workers plan to continue picketing until negotiations resume on Wednesday. The strike was authorized by a vote on September 29 by two local United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) unions, with over 90% of members voting in favor.

CVS spokesperson Amy Thibault said in a statement, "We are disappointed that our UFCW member colleagues have gone on strike at a few select locations in the Los Angeles area."