Former Tulsa Walgreens Employee Speaks On Stressful Working Conditions In Pharmacy

A woman who used to work for a Tulsa Walgreens in the pharmacy said their working conditions were stressful, and the nationwide walkouts have many employees asking what needs to change.

Rachel Moss said the working conditions were out of hand for everyone in the pharmacy, and she thinks all the stress could easily lead to dangerous mistakes.

Moss said she started working at Walgreens seven years ago doing many jobs and most recently worked as a pharmacy technician manager in Tulsa.

She says it’s a demanding job, but she liked making an impact on people.

“They would ask about me about my kids, hey, how's life going?" she said.

Rachel said things started changing during COVID when the company made more work demands, and since then, more and more vaccines are being given, which takes time.

She says that, combined with staffing shortages, has led to insane work requirements.

“303 medications to fill plus your shots, you have two technicians and two pharmacists who are struggling and running and running," said Moss. 

Rachel said many employees barely had time to use the bathroom, and more work was piled on them.

Last week, after CVS employees walked out, many Walgreens employees chose not to come to work as a way to demand change. Rachel was one of them.

"We’re trying to show you we’re doing our best with what we have. When we close down early, it's not because we want to," she said.

Rachel was fired recently and said she thinks after 7 years with no issues, it may be because she spoke up about the issues.

She said something must change because even small mistakes by overworked pharmacists could be dangerous or even deadly.

“These are kids, elderly people, people in general," she said. "We're supposed to be advocating for their lives.”

“I’m hoping this is gonna help open some eyes," she said.

National news outlets report that Walgreens and other pharmacy employees may be holding another walkout at the end of this month.

Walgreens shared this statement with News On 6:

Can’t speculate about the possibility of a walkout, but will share that the last few years have required an unprecedented effort from our team members, and we share their pride in this work — while recognizing it has been a very challenging time. We understand the immense pressures felt across the U.S. in retail pharmacy right now and are committed to ensuring that our entire pharmacy team has the support and resources necessary to continue to provide the best care to our patients while taking care of their own wellbeing.