My Pencak Report article entitled Freedom
and Dignity engendered questions and statements from pharmacists that I
thought would be of general interest and the answers are important. I am using direct quotes and changing the pharmacists’
names.
Email
No. 1: What exactly is your point?? We are explicitly told (officially and
frequently) that we have no rights to refuse, refute, or ask for legal
assistance with the laundry list of ‘you must’ and ‘you cannot’ or else HP rules
in the hospital environment. Are you implying this is wrong? . . . As for all the other infringements on
personal freedom, they say you agree or we let you go. So where is the legal recourse??
Sincerely,
I.M. Direct
PharmD
Q: “Are you implying this is wrong?”
Reply: Yes it is very wrong even to the point of oppression. We are free humans and not chattel of a
corporate master.
Q: “So where is the legal recourse??”
Reply: You are observing a dilemma almost every
individual employee confronts. If you
seek a position at CVS, Rite-Aid, Henry Ford Hospital, Mercy Health Systems,
etc., you are employed at-will with the mega-corp setting all of the terms and
conditions of your service and you have no bargaining strength. You can take the job or somebody else
will. You are at the mercy of a powerful,
extremely wealthy corporation.
In contemporary military and foreign policy
discussions the term “asymmetric warfare” is frequently used. Asymmetric warfare is defined as warfare in
which opposing groups or nations have unequal military resources and the weaker
opponent uses unconventional weapons and tactics to exploit the vulnerabilities
of the enemy.
Every
person and entity has weaknesses and vulnerabilities, discover them.
So what can an employee do in this kind of asymmetric
bargaining/employment situation? The
first question you ask is what do mega-corporations and oppressive billionaires
fear most?
That question is easily answered. What is the very first thing that a
mega-corporate campaign contributors demand from their politicians when they
gain control of the governorship and legislature in states such as Wisconsin
and Michigan? They ask for laws to
dilute the power of unions. They
ironically label the union busting legislation as “right to work laws”.
Some people don’t like the word “union” because
the word has been under attack for decades.
Call it if you prefer, “a professional association with collective
bargaining rights”. Even Wal-Mart fears
unions. That is why unions are vilified
on talk radio, etc. If you “don’t like unions”, do you have an alternative?
“Hard work” alone won’t save you.
Imagine, if all health
professionals and health technicians, etc., employed by CVS, Walgreens, Henry
Ford Hospital, Rite-Aid, etc., belonged to a union or a professional
association with collective bargaining rights?
The workers would now be protected by the Federal National Labor
Relations Act and other federal laws and the union would be able to bargain for
all of its members to obtain better pay, retirement, health benefits and
working conditions. The pharmacist and
nurse would have such things as undisturbed lunch breaks in the morning and
afternoon, as well as freedom from unfair, arbitrary urine, blood and hair
testing. You would no longer be an
at-will employee but instead, would have a contractual right to keep your job
according to the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). One pharmacist or nurse is weak; one thousand
is a force to reckon with.
No longer would you have to worry about whether
your boss likes you, your religion or hobbies.
You would only have to concern yourself with being a quality
professional doing your job properly.
You wouldn’t be fired under a pretext because they found a pharmacist,
nurse or doctor that’s younger than you, and will work for less money. The fact that you’ve been employed for 20 or
30 years would result in you being a more prestigious and secure employee.
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No. 2: I work in retail pharmacy for a big
chain company and I have been a Michigan Rph since ____. I love my
job and find great pride in it yet I have always asked myself how come
we don’t get at least a half hour break so we can recharge our brains and shake
off some stress and fatigue away. A
normal shift for me is 13 hours straight with running around constantly. Any suggestions/ideas?
Sincerely,
Vera Tired, RPh
Reply: Form a professional association (union). When you begin the struggle to unionize, it
will be difficult and you will be threatened.
You must guard against irrational
fear. Other health professionals and
workers have successfully organized — you can do it.
