Folks,
Greetings from the Burgh, where I am getting back in the swing of things as I recover from a severe Long Covid flare-up after getting sick.
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“Pharmageddon” as Walgreen Strikes Spread Nationwide
Last month, workers at more than two dozen CVS stores in Kansas City walked off the job. As a result, CVS agreed to meet with the workers and pledged to attempt to meet their demands.
Now, workers at dozens of Walgreens stores nationwide are walking out. They are demanding that CVS address issues of low pay and overwork.
Organizers say that workers at more than 500 Walgreens indicated an interest in participating in the strikes. However, how many workers participated needs to be clarified.
“We’re going to do way more harm to people in 10 more years of operating like this than we would with a three-day walkout,” one organizer told CNN. “It’s time to try something different. Every year we get the same promises and every year we get the same Band-Aid on the problem.”
Mack Truck Workers Rebuff Fain & Walkout
Last week, UAW President Shawn Fain recommended that 4,000 workers at Mack Truck accept a deal to avert a strike. However, union members rebuked Fain, with 71% voting to reject the contract.
Now, workers at Mack Truck are on strike in Pennsylvania, Florida, and Maryland.
“I’m inspired to see UAW members at Mack holding out for a better deal and ready to stand up and walk off the job to win it,” said UAW President Shawn Fain.
Drew Barrymore Writers Refuse to Return After She Busted Strike
Finally, Drew Barrymore attempted to bring in scab writers to bust the strike during the Writer’s Strike. Now, with the strike over, her writers have refused to return to work on her show. From the Hollywood Reporter:
Barrymore found herself in hot water last month when she announced that her daytime talk show would make its fourth-season debut without its striking writers. A week later, after Barrymore faced backlash and at least a few panicked guest cancellations, she revealed that she’d be reversing course, pausing the show’s return until the WGA strike concluded.
But with the WGA strike now over, the show is set to come back Oct. 16, and those writers — Chelsea White, Cristina Kinon and Liz Koe — have declined an offer to return with it, according to sources. The production is now interviewing new writers and will be in compliance with the guild.
As for White, Kinon and Koe, all three were visible and vocal in their protest during the show’s initial return to production in mid-September. The trio of women, who shared the title co-head writer and have been with the series since season one, could be seen picketing outside of Drew’s Manhattan studio on multiple days, with signs that read, “Honk if you [love] union labor” or “Drew’s News: Strikes.”
On Sept. 11, which was the show’s first day back in production, they told THR that they’d found out Drew was returning, not from their boss or colleagues, but rather via audience ticket giveaways that had been posted on social media. “It is a bummer to hear that the show is going back because it sends a message that union writers are not valuable,” White told THR that morning. Kinon added: “I understand that everybody has to do what they feel is best for them. For me and the WGA writers on the show, it’s important for us to stick with our union. We deserve a fair contract, so we are here today outside.”
For more, check out the Hollywood Reporter.
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Love & Solidarity,
Melk
