Members of the trade workers union have been demonstrating against the pharmacy chain over claims Walgreens fails to meet local area labor standards when constructing its buildings. Drivers on the Parks Highway near the Wasilla outlet may have noticed over the past month people displaying a large sign proclaiming “Shame on Walgreens.”
The demonstration is manned by members of the Alaska Regional Council of Carpenters, which is affiliated with the union. Although the sign also proclaims a “labor dispute,” it’s aimed at Walgreens corporate construction practices and not at employees of the local store, said Arylis Scates, director of organizing for the council.
 ROBERT DeBERRY/Frontiersman Three United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America union members stand with a banner protesting Walgreens along the Parks Highway Friday afternoon. |
That has changed in recent years when the company began receiving a string of multi-million dollar judgments and settlements against it, he said. Now, the union claims Walgreens hires substandard contractors to do construction work who often don’t offer a living wage or health insurance. It’s a claim he said is aimed at the corporation and not necessarily the way the Wasilla store, which opened last year, was built.
“As Walgreens started to lose these mulit-million dollar lawsuits, they also started to wane on their area standards,” he said. “Instead of saying, ‘We need to turn this around and improve our standards,’ they decided to take a corporate action of cutting more corners and employ less-than-area-standards contractors.”
Those lawsuits include a 2008 $24 million settlement of a lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for alleged race discrimination. Earlier this year, the company settled a deceptive marketing complaint brought by the Federal Trade Commission for $6 million. Walgreens was hit with a $25.8 million judgment for the 2007 death of a Florida woman that was caused by a prescription mistake. The largest blow came in 2008, when the company settled a Medicaid whistleblower lawsuit for $35 million.
A call to the Wasilla Walgreens for comment was referred to Robert Elfinger, a media relations specialist for the company in Illinois. Elfinger said Walgreens disputes the union’s claims and acknowledged there are similar demonstrations at stores throughout the United States. He declined to answer questions about the union’s specific grievances, saying the company’s position is outlined in a statement.
“We require that all developers and contractors who build or remodel Walgreens stores offer their employees health insurance benefits and a living wage,” the statement says. “We also encourage union contractors to submit bids, and a great number of our construction jobs are performed with union labor. We require that our developers and contractors bid our jobs to both union and nonunion contractors and when bids are competitive, we favor union labor.”
Scates said the issue isn’t whether Walgreens uses union or nonunion labor.
“It does not matter if it’s union or not,” he said. “I want them to meet that standard. ... If they were doing the responsible thing, (Walgreens would) employ contractors who have already gone through the proper steps. These are people who have taken time out of their lives to learn their trade, improve their trade.”
The Wasilla demonstration is peaceful, Scates said, adding the goal is to educate people about the union’s complaint.
“We want people to see that sign and wonder why,” he said. “Hopefully, they’ll go over and ask about it, then do their own due diligence to learn about it.”
Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269
Comments
40 comment(s)GO WALGREENS wrote on Aug 29, 2010 9:16 PM:
Mo wrote on Aug 3, 2010 1:08 PM:
I for one stepped-up my monetary contributions to Walgreen's in light of the "protest". "
Unions are old news wrote on Jul 27, 2010 8:35 PM:
union princesses at walgreens wrote on Jul 26, 2010 9:19 PM:
Debs wrote on Jul 26, 2010 12:53 PM:
sethinak wrote on Jul 25, 2010 10:39 AM:
Rusty wrote on Jul 24, 2010 9:47 PM:
HEY CJ wrote on Jul 24, 2010 2:03 PM:
my skills speak for themselves. now, i make more with a non-union electric company and ALL of my money goes to ME. "
Milka wrote on Jul 24, 2010 10:20 AM:
Rose wrote on Jul 24, 2010 10:19 AM:
To CJ wrote on Jul 23, 2010 10:39 PM:
get your unions jackalopes back to work instead of standing on the corner like crying bums. "
Mark ABQ wrote on Jul 23, 2010 3:45 PM:
Why wrote on Jul 23, 2010 2:14 PM:
khbalaska wrote on Jul 23, 2010 9:18 AM:
CJ wrote on Jul 23, 2010 7:33 AM:
brady7 wrote on Jul 22, 2010 11:15 AM:
Chris wrote on Jul 21, 2010 1:30 AM:
Bravo wrote on Jul 20, 2010 1:40 PM:
Jen wrote on Jul 20, 2010 10:47 AM:
Unions are good and bad. Regardless of your thoughts on Unions, Walgreens should be building everything to code as they should. If they aren't, the Union needs to get specific complaints rather than just a sign in Wasilla, AK. "
Rebecca Logan wrote on Jul 19, 2010 9:33 PM:
union wife wrote on Jul 19, 2010 5:49 PM:
Brian Gundlach wrote on Jul 19, 2010 5:41 PM:
MSBoro Employees and teachers wrote on Jul 19, 2010 2:40 PM:
area labor standards wrote on Jul 19, 2010 1:39 PM:
osha covers workers safety.
bidding covers workers pay.
insurance covers workers comp.
best practices cover workers skills.
state labor laws covers workers rights.
nope. no real issue. sorry union thug.
you lose.
ps- when you see these kooks on the corner holding their sign, tell them off! "
Get your facts straight wrote on Jul 19, 2010 9:02 AM:
A decade ago, the U. S. Supreme Court established what are now known as "Beck rights" in the landmark decision Communication Workers v. Beck.1 Beck rights dictate that workers cannot be forced under union contracts to pay any dues or fees. Beck rights are a triumph of individual rights over the political weight of union leaders. "
exunion member wrote on Jul 19, 2010 7:54 AM:
Pay Attention wrote on Jul 19, 2010 6:22 AM:
dear susan wrote on Jul 18, 2010 10:18 PM:
Meadow Lakes Madman wrote on Jul 18, 2010 9:01 PM:
Susan wrote on Jul 18, 2010 6:36 PM:
Wouldn't it be great if everyone could make a decent living for an honest days work and not try and tear each other down. "
Metoo wrote on Jul 18, 2010 2:42 PM:
Leon wrote on Jul 18, 2010 1:55 PM:
Paying someone for my experience who purportedly found me a job when my experience got me the job is a true qualified person. "
right to work wrote on Jul 18, 2010 1:12 PM:
We need to BECOME a Right to work state- that way, you are not forced to join a union to, for example, become a teacher.
Down with all unions. Tis is not 1936 any longer. "
Simple Math wrote on Jul 18, 2010 11:34 AM:
wrote on Jul 18, 2010 10:09 AM:
AKwasilla wrote on Jul 18, 2010 10:09 AM:
Shame on the union for assuming that if your not part of the union your not smart enough to do a job right.
Get OFF the street corner and do something that really counts, I’m sick of seeing unprofessional looking workers trying to make their point! If you want people to listen them maybe you should look and act the part! "
tradalaskan wrote on Jul 18, 2010 9:15 AM:
Get to work wrote on Jul 18, 2010 9:13 AM:
Bravo wrote on Jul 18, 2010 9:12 AM:
lifelongalaska wrote on Jul 18, 2010 7:43 AM: