It's time to unionize

[Mambo#5]

Unions only benefit the top. If you're on the bottom - SOL

Unions benefit the average worker

Unions only benefit the top. If you're on the bottom - SOL

Managers and supervisors cannot join unions or be part of the bargaining unit. So I’m not sure where you got that from.

Unions don’t get much positive feedback today because they are not as strong as they have been in the past partly because of laws that have been passed and people who are so eager to vote and agree with legislation or politicians that support “right to work”(right to work for less) states and or laws. The latest blow agains workers is the Supreme Court ruling in Janas v. AFSCME(Supreme Court Janus ruling helps corporations at the expense of workers).

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[rxdawg21]

Unions benefit the average worker

Managers and supervisors cannot join unions or be part of the bargaining unit. So I’m not sure where you got that from.

Unions don’t get much positive feedback today because they are not as strong as they have been in the past partly because of laws that have been passed and people who are so eager to vote and agree with legislation or politicians that support “right to work”(right to work for less) states and or laws. The latest blow agains workers is the Supreme Court ruling in Janas v. AFSCME(Supreme Court Janus ruling helps corporations at the expense of workers).

That’s funny. Everyone I know that dislikes unions is due to the absolute ridiculousness you have to go through to fire someone. It’s a joke. Look at the rubber rooms in NYC.

The premise of unions is good, the execution and function are awful.

 

[DrVader]

I was actually debating that, but the strike ended. Mostly because I would have had to fly to make myself available for work.


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We can't create a union as long as the pharmacy school pump out new grads like the world is ending tomorrow. Chains will simply fire the union members and replace them. As sad as it seems for me to say this, I don't think people who have been working for CVS or Walgs for 20 years and who have no student debt are going to jeopardize their careers. There are a lot of pharmacists who are living high on the hog.

 

[PharBeyondDriven]

James, I hear you but do you think you're going to get a bunch of women, beta males and Indian/African pharmacists to be brave enough for 1 minute to strike and walk around with a sign?

I want to point out that the strongest unions in the country are made up mostly of women. The teachers unions and the nursing unions are examples to follow. Women generally need union representation more than men so that we can get equal pay and fair time-off allowances for when we have children.

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

I want to point out that the strongest unions in the country are made up mostly of women. The teachers unions and the nursing unions are examples to follow. Women generally need union representation more than men so that we can get equal pay and fair time-off allowances for when we have children.

Equal pay in professions that are made up of nearly all women?

How does that work?

 

[wagrxm2000]

Equal pay in professions that are made up of nearly all women?

How does that work?

Do Murses get paid more then Nurses?

We can't create a union as long as the pharmacy school pump out new grads like the world is ending tomorrow. Chains will simply fire the union members and replace them. As sad as it seems for me to say this, I don't think people who have been working for CVS or Walgs for 20 years and who have no student debt are going to jeopardize their careers. There are a lot of pharmacists who are living high on the hog.

Yep if I was a new grad and there were unions, I'd walk up to a location I'd like to work at and tell them I don't belong to a union.

Which actually brings up a thought, can union members be transferred? Couldn't the chains just transfer a pharmacist to a bad location 100s of miles away so they'll just quit.

 

[zelman]

Yep if I was a new grad and there were unions, I'd walk up to a location I'd like to work at and tell them I don't belong to a union.

Which actually brings up a thought, can union members be transferred? Couldn't the chains just transfer a pharmacist to a bad location 100s of miles away so they'll just quit.

#1 That’s why you sign them up during P1
#2 Depends on the union contract

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

I want to point out that the strongest unions in the country are made up mostly of women. The teachers unions and the nursing unions are examples to follow. Women generally need union representation more than men so that we can get equal pay and fair time-off allowances for when we have children.

Umm, I've seen what teachers are paid. Not sure that's the example you want to go with here.

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

Umm, I've seen what teachers are paid. Not sure that's the example you want to go with here.

Also, the situation in nursing as a profession is nothing like pharmacy.

There's gotta be a formula where X = available special workers and Y = available jobs, where if Y > X to a certain degree, unified labor has no chance of being effective.

I doubt any of those Kaiser RNs making MD money in California are union.

 

[samven582]

Unions benefit the average worker

Managers and supervisors cannot join unions or be part of the bargaining unit. So I’m not sure where you got that from.

Unions don’t get much positive feedback today because they are not as strong as they have been in the past partly because of laws that have been passed and people who are so eager to vote and agree with legislation or politicians that support “right to work”(right to work for less) states and or laws. The latest blow agains workers is the Supreme Court ruling in Janas v. AFSCME(Supreme Court Janus ruling helps corporations at the expense of workers).

average worker? you sure about that? As a union member, I get screwed in the following: scheduling, vacations, holiday selections, and moving up the ladder. Unions only benefit those members who have been there the longest.

 

[Pharmibippy]

average worker? you sure about that? As a union member, I get screwed in the following: scheduling, vacations, holiday selections, and moving up the ladder. Unions only benefit those members who have been there the longest.

meh I get paid way more compared to other pharmacists in this area. so yes, the average worker does benefit. do i get the short end of the stick when it comes to vacation time/holiday selections? sure but the pay makes up for it and I will one day benefit from these rules in the future.

don't be so short sighted. i think people just like to complain to complain sometimes.

 

[samven582]

meh I get paid way more compared to other pharmacists in this area. so yes, the average worker does benefit. do i get the short end of the stick when it comes to vacation time/holiday selections? sure but the pay makes up for it and I will one day benefit from these rules in the future.

don't be so short sighted. i think people just like to complain to complain sometimes.

Money doesn't bring happiness, my friend.

 

[zelman]

Money doesn't bring happiness, my friend.

 

[Lnsean]

Money doesn't bring happiness, my friend.

Sure it does. You just don't know where to shop.

 

[Mambo#5]

average worker? you sure about that? As a union member, I get screwed in the following: scheduling, vacations, holiday selections, and moving up the ladder. Unions only benefit those members who have been there the longest.

Am sure you get a lunch break, additional scheduled breaks, job security and higher pay.

 

[confettiflyer]

Am sure you get a lunch break, additional scheduled breaks, job security and higher pay.

I don’t need a union for that, I just need a backbone to stand up for what I’m legally entitled to and superior negotiating skills for the latter.


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[zelman]

I don’t need a union for that, I just need a backbone to stand up for what I’m legally entitled to and superior negotiating skills for the latter.


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Which states legally entitle you to a break (besides California)?

 

[Mambo#5]

I don’t need a union for that, I just need a backbone to stand up for what I’m legally entitled to and superior negotiating skills for the latter.


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Yeah, I guess your right, one person is stronger than a group of people when it comes to things like that. There’s no strength in numbers. I’ll just negotiate n tell em what I want.

 

[OXYFORALL]

I don’t need a union for that, I just need a backbone to stand up for what I’m legally entitled to and superior negotiating skills for the latter.


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When you're the only one standing up for yourself guess who the DM will fire first for being a pain in the ass.

 

[OXYFORALL]

Which states legally entitle you to a break (besides California)?

NJ allows rphs a lunch break as long as they don't leave the building and are available in an emergency.

 

[misoprostol]

Not-for-Profit Generic Drug Company Officially Established, Attracts Interest of More Than 120 Health Organizations

I think the above article posted elsewhere in this forum points how one way we can leverage our expertise strategically. The healthcare system is broken, and I think we have the innate ability to start to fix it (or offer better solutions). Closing pharmacy schools is one way to look at it, but really the corporate interests have not done us any favors - think of how they're trying to destroy community pharmacies with PBMs/insurance, and the conditions some of us work in. Change in local policies to help demonstrate our potential seems necessary... interested to hear other folk's thoughts.

 

[zelman]

Not-for-Profit Generic Drug Company Officially Established, Attracts Interest of More Than 120 Health Organizations

I think the above article posted elsewhere in this forum points how one way we can leverage our expertise strategically. The healthcare system is broken, and I think we have the innate ability to start to fix it (or offer better solutions). Closing pharmacy schools is one way to look at it, but really the corporate interests have not done us any favors - think of how they're trying to destroy community pharmacies with PBMs/insurance, and the conditions some of us work in. Change in local policies to help demonstrate our potential seems necessary... interested to hear other folk's thoughts.

If I had the millions of dollars it takes to start manufacturing drugs, I’d probably be anti-union.

 

[N974]

A union is way past due. At minimum there isn’t a reason to not have a card drive, which is the first step to have a union representation vote later on. When those card drives happen, all of a sudden management comes bearing gifts and opens their pocket books.

Unions aren’t perfect, but they are WAY better than the alternative. Cali has union type laws that every company says will bankrupt them....funny how they seem to be doing just fine in Cali with mandatory lunch breaks and mandatory OT.

You can start a card drive incognito pretty easily these days. Just send in the cards and there will then be a vote. Nobody has to know about it or talk openly about it. Again, nothing to lose. Once the union is in, the leaders can come out of the woodwork since they have protection at that point.

 

[confettiflyer]

Yeah, I guess your right, one person is stronger than a group of people when it comes to things like that. There’s no strength in numbers. I’ll just negotiate n tell em what I want.

Yup. For me at least. If you’re not particularly marketable or suck at negotiating, outsourcing and paying for a union to try to do it for you might be preferable.


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[confettiflyer]

When you're the only one standing up for yourself guess who the DM will fire first for being a pain in the ass.

Good thing I don’t have a DM then.

Again, more stupidity. Don’t assert yourself unless you have another offer in hand. You need leverage.

Jesus people, negotiating basics 101.


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[OXYFORALL]

Good thing I don’t have a DM then.

Again, more stupidity. Don’t assert yourself unless you have another offer in hand. You need leverage.

Jesus people, negotiating basics 101.


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If you don't have a boss then who are you negotiating with? Most of the chains could give a rats ass if someone quits-lots more to take your place.

 

[confettiflyer]

If you don't have a boss then who are you negotiating with? Most of the chains could give a rats ass if someone quits-lots more to take your place.

:::shakes head:::




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[Mambo#5]

:::shakes head:::

*hears rattling noise*


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[JamesL1585]

Theres a CNBC reporter on reddit asking folks about how bad the pharmacy profession is. Welp, I guess it was only a matter of time.

 

[confettiflyer]

Lol looks like I shook some trees in here


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[confettiflyer]

If you don't have a boss then who are you negotiating with? Most of the chains could give a rats ass if someone quits-lots more to take your place.

I’m gonna quote this again in case you delete your post once you figure it out


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[DrVader]

I’m gonna quote this again in case you delete your post once you figure it out


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This is why pharmacists won't unionize. We are not united, MBAs are better at this than we are.

 

[JamesL1585]

This is why pharmacists won't unionize. We are not united, MBAs are better at this than we are.

They would. They understand what's in their best interest, from both business, and lifestyle perspectives.

 

[percyeye]

Whenever I'm bummed about the possible future of my profession I wonder to this board and then am reminded maybe we don't have it so bad.

When I was in school I thought about Pharmacy for 2 seconds because I had a friend who's dad did really well as a Pharmacist but never could see myself working the job.

Obviously there is still a ton of people going into Pharmacy and new schools popping up, so what is it now that is drawing so many people still to consider the profession? (Sorry for derailment of unionizing thread)

 

[beautifulrobot]

Whenever I'm bummed about the possible future of my profession I wonder to this board and then am reminded maybe we don't have it so bad.

When I was in school I thought about Pharmacy for 2 seconds because I had a friend who's dad did really well as a Pharmacist but never could see myself working the job.

Obviously there is still a ton of people going into Pharmacy and new schools popping up, so what is it now that is drawing so many people still to consider the profession? (Sorry for derailment of unionizing thread)

That's a great question. Has this been studied in recent years?

Based on anecdata, I would guess the following:
1. The lost chemistry major who is kicking the can down the road: i am not sure what to do with life, so will apply to a school that will accept me and I get to live off student loans a little longer and hope i figure something out, or whatever
2. The experienced in pharmacy who actually likes the work: i worked as a tech and/or i am very knowledgable about the field and still think the risks are worth the benefits of being a pharmacist.
3. The misinformed: i was told by my high school counselor that pharmacy is a good field to go into, no one in my family knows any better to give me better guidance, and my primary goal is to get a stable middle-class job.
4. The misguided med school reject: i couldnt get into med school and pharmacy seems like a better alternative than nursing or other healthcare professions, and i still get a doctorate out of the whole deal
5. The foreign pharmacist: i was a pharmacist in the old country and i would rather try to get my pharmacist license here than retrain for a completely different profession

I would gather the vast majority of applicants these days are the lost, misinformed, or misguided med school rejects, and then some who actually dream of being a pharmacist and really enjoy the work, and a really small number of foreign pharmacists trying to get licensed in the US or get a PharmD and go back to their home country that doesn't offer a PharmD program.

 

[KennethCool]

CEO: "We hit 150% of our targets this year. No pay raises for anyone."

 

[sozetone]

That's a great question. Has this been studied in recent years?

Based on anecdata, I would guess the following:
1. The lost chemistry major who is kicking the can down the road: i am not sure what to do with life, so will apply to a school that will accept me and I get to live off student loans a little longer and hope i figure something out, or whatever
2. The experienced in pharmacy who actually likes the work: i worked as a tech and/or i am very knowledgable about the field and still think the risks are worth the benefits of being a pharmacist.
3. The misinformed: i was told by my high school counselor that pharmacy is a good field to go into, no one in my family knows any better to give me better guidance, and my primary goal is to get a stable middle-class job.
4. The misguided med school reject: i couldnt get into med school and pharmacy seems like a better alternative than nursing or other healthcare professions, and i still get a doctorate out of the whole deal
5. The foreign pharmacist: i was a pharmacist in the old country and i would rather try to get my pharmacist license here than retrain for a completely different profession

I would gather the vast majority of applicants these days are the lost, misinformed, or misguided med school rejects, and then some who actually dream of being a pharmacist and really enjoy the work, and a really small number of foreign pharmacists trying to get licensed in the US or get a PharmD and go back to their home country that doesn't offer a PharmD program.

Yeah i was a number 2, problem is in 2003 when i started this journey the companies would give you money just to work for them, the job market was FLOURISHING.......so i cant be blamed for NOT doing my research, by 2012 when i graduated after 4 and 4 of schooling .....the rug started to slip from under me.....now it's pretty much been pulled out....i could not have forseen this coming. The new graduates however, have the chance to do the research, look around, listen to the people who have already walked the road they are about to walk......most just dont.