UFCW Local 135 Intensifies CVS Boycott with Triple Actions This Wednesday
UFCW Local 135 continues to amplify customer pressure on CVS Pharmacy with a series of three boycott actions this Wednesday, October 16, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at three nonunion CVS locations in Downtown San Diego: 402 Fifth Avenue, 645 Market Street, and 101 Park Plaza.
Union members, alongside labor allies, will be engaged in informational picketing at the pharmacies, urging customers to boycott CVS, transfer their prescriptions to unionized grocery pharmacies, and cancel their CVS ExtraCare+ memberships. The boycott actions come after CVS workers across California overwhelmingly voted to authorize an unfair labor practice (ULP) strike.
The simultaneous boycott actions are timed to coincide with the resumption of contract negotiations that morning. UFCW Local 135 has been holding weekly boycott events to press CVS to return to the bargaining table with a fair contract offer. CVS employees have been working without a contract for over three months, as the company continues to resist worker demands for higher wages, better benefits, and safer working environments.
Todd Walters, President of UFCW Local 135, emphasized the critical need for public backing during this pivotal moment for unionized CVS employees:
“Our members at CVS have shown incredible dedication by providing essential healthcare services in difficult circumstances. Now they’re calling for what’s right—fair wages, safer stores, and better healthcare. CVS needs to step up and do right by their workers. We’re asking the public to stand in solidarity with these hardworking individuals by boycotting CVS until a fair contract is on the table.”
The recent strike authorization vote empowers CVS workers to initiate a ULP strike. Until a strike is called or a deal is made at the bargaining table, UFCW Local 135 will continue organizing boycott actions to ensure CVS management understands the urgency of their demands.
Statewide, more than 7,400 UFCW members across eight Locals, representing nearly 400 CVS pharmacies, are part of this bargaining unit. Workers are fighting for fair pay, safer working conditions, and healthcare benefits that reflect their critical role in the community.
For further information on the boycott or ongoing contract negotiations, contact UFCW Local 135 Communications Director Brent Beltran at 619.866.8595.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Between three to twelve UFCW Local 135 members and labor allies will be picketing outside three nonunion CVS locations, holding signs that read “CVS PHARMACY WORKERS STAND TOGETHER.” They will hand out flyers, urging customers to support the boycott until CVS agrees to a fair contract.
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United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 135 represents over 12,000 members in San Diego and Imperial Counties across industries including grocery & retail, pharmacy, healthcare, food processing, cannabis, and more. UFCW Local 135 is part of the 1.3 million-member strong UFCW International Union.
