Teamsters Local 727 Notifies Top CVS Executives of CVS Negotiators’ Unwillingness to Reach a Deal

www.teamsterslocal727.org/teamsters-local-727-notifies-top-cvs-executives-of-cvs-negotiators-unwillingness-to-reach-a-deal/

Union Demands Fair Treatment and Good Faith Bargaining for Pharmacists

Earlier this month, Teamsters Local 727 Secretary-Treasurer John Coli, Jr., wrote letters to 25 executives at CVS detailing the disrespectful and upsetting manner in which local Company representatives and CVS’s chief negotiator have handled ongoing negotiations with the Union.

“It has been over two years since contract negotiations began, and the Company has used every delay tactic in the book while seeking to limit wages, force longer work hours to already overworked pharmacists and remove PICS from the bargaining unit by replacing them with non-union managers,” wrote Secretary-Treasurer Coli.  “It seems that CVS has no interest in being fair or reasonable.”

CVS management has dragged its feet throughout negotiations, ignoring requests for meeting dates, rejecting proposed meeting dates, refusing to discuss and explain outstanding proposals, or produce a last, best, and final offer.  Coli requested CVS’s top leaders reach out to the negotiators and instruct them to cease wasting time and money on unrealistic proposals and come prepared to reach a fair contract when the Parties meet this week.

“These are not the actions of a corporation committed to its workforce, its investors, or the public,” Coli stated in his letter.  “CVS should be eager to invest in their workers and improve working conditions for the employees whose hard work keeps customers coming back.”

The Union will continue to demand a fair collective bargaining agreement for its pharmacy members.  “These hardworking pharmacists deserve a respectable contract.  We won’t stop fighting until they get one,” said Coli.

Teamsters Local 727 will inform pharmacists of all updates following the June 21, 2018 bargaining session.

If you have questions, contact Local 727 Business Representative Melissa Senatore at (847) 696-7500 or melissa@teamsterslocal727.org.

Nothing in this article should be read as the union’s waiver of any legal argument, position or additional grievance. The union does not forfeit its right to make any and all supplemental arguments.

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http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-cvs-lawsuit-wrong-cream-20180622-story.html

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I routinely get phone calls and I just never know who is going to be on the other line.. other than those who wish to help me lower my credit card interest rate.. of which I don’t have any outstanding balances on them 🙂  And then there are the ones from the “IRS” that is going to come out in 24 hrs if I don’t call them back because of some unpaid tax debt… surprisingly.. I have hung up on every one of those and I am still a “free man”.. they have never showed up at by door to arrest me..

Yesterday I got a call from a person on the west coast, a mid-aged male… who had did something stupid in his teens or 20’s and ended up with intractable chronic pain in his back…

For THIRTY YEARS, he had been patronizing a CVS store near where he lived, but recently he and his wife had moved about 75 miles to a more affordable housing area..  He kept seeing the pain management prescriber that he had been seeing for 10 + yrs and he took a prescription to the local CVS near where he now lives…

So he now takes a new C-II prescription for Fentanyl to a CVS store near his new home.  He described that the pharmacist on duty at this CVS was a YOUNG FEMALE FLOATER…

This pharmacist apparently didn’t bother to check the CVS computer system … apparently she started down the path of looking for a reason not to fill this Fentanyl prescription… she first stated that the date on the prescription appeared to be in a “slightly different shade of ink” than the signature on the prescription..

Of course the pt didn’t know that the only thing that the physician has to physically do to a C-II prescription is sign it in indelible pencil or with a pen that is “liquid ink”… they can’t use rubber stamps or be signed by office nurse/agent… however the office nurse/agent can fill out the entire prescription – including the date – according to federal statue.

The directions on the prescription was for the pt to swap out a patch every 2-3 days.. .but.. the pharmacist stated that the FDA guidelines was for EVERY 3 DAYS… of course… apparently this YOUNG PHARMACIST did not learn out of her academic books that those requires – clinical trials – were done before we knew much about CYP-450 enzyme system and how these 50 odd liver enzymes can affect opiate metabolism and that some pts are slow, some are normal, some are fast and some or ultra fast metabolizers.. and those who metabolize opiate faster with Fentanyl patches can often start going into withdrawal around 60 hrs of having the patch on..

That brings up one of my favorite sayings… “…knowledge is knowing the rules… experience is knowing the exception to the rules ”  It would seem to be that this pharmacist falls under the first part of that saying … and you can guess where I fall ?

End of this story… this pt had to do without his Fentanyl for THREE DAYS… because of this pharmacist’s apparent starting looking for a reason not to fill this particular pt’s C-II Rxs… if for no other reason than he was new pt to this particular store and she was not interested in looking into the pt’s prescription history in CVS’ computer system.

And while on the phone with this pt… he look on my website and found http://www.ncpanet.org/home/find-your-local-pharmacy and had found a INDEPENDENT PHARMACY near him that he was going to reach out to.  This pt also indicated that he has some law background and indicated that he could file charges against this particular pharmacist on his own…

I hope that this pt can get the attention of this particular “by the book & by the numbers” pharmacist…” Maybe he can change some of her “book smarts” … into “knowing about the exceptions to the rules”  Time will tell…  but one thing that this pt can count on… he has my cell number and I am on his side 100% and more than happy to draw him a “road map” to show this pharmacist as to the path that she should be taking with chronic pain pts.

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My Name is XXX  XXX and I got your Email Address off the Web Site when I

Was searching for Pharmacist Whom would not fill My Prescription, I will tell you A little bit about myself

And what I have been going through in the last couple of years in RE: To My Prescription. The

Nightmare, Embarrassment, and the turn downs on not filling my Prescription, .

 As a Child I can remember having severe Headaches, So as I got older my headaches got worse, I had been to so so many Drs. And they could not find out

What was causing these severe Headaches, so my Family Dr  decided to do a spinal tap, well hmmm

Pressure on my brain was 420, Very high, so I was sent to neurosurgeon, Dr Dusseau in turn had diagnosed me with Hydrocephalus/Arnold Chari, So my Dr said that I needed a Shunt in my brain to drain the Fluid, okay let’s do this when hmmmm one week later I end up in the Emergency Room 

I could not Stand the pain, to make a long story short, I ended up having 12 Shunt revisions on my Brain because the Stunts just would not work on my Condition (Sad) my last and final shunt had gotten infected some how so I was in Intensive Care for 48 hours to drain the  infection off my Brain,

So I said No more Stunts I will try and Love with the pain, (And just take pain medication), On top of all this I was in motorcycle acct at young age and lost my left heel, so after all these years not able to walk right due to No Heel it has caused so much back pain, I have RA Arthritis and so many more problems,

So my question is why in the World do I get treated like I’m a Junkie, I take one Medication for my Pain not 2-3-4, One, I’m sorry I’ve had to take A 12 hour med this last Month because I cannot get my Prescription filled, My Pain Management Dr has been sending Electronic Prescription to Publix every 2 weeks because they will not fill one Month Supply, I had gone to Walgeens last month to get my 

Prescription Filled and the Pharmacist re fused my script and said not only will I not fill your script but No other Walgreens will fill it either,  I said what are you the spokes person for Walgreens, I’m crying because I’m just beside myself that I’m getting treated this way, ,So I thought well I have humma Ins

I will have my Dr sent script by Mail Order, so I wait wait no Prescription came so I called the Pharmacist 

To see what was going on with my Prescription and the Tech says the Pharmacist has used his Judgement not to Fill your Prescription, I was like the Pharmacist has what he is not my Dr this is a legit Script  he really has No right to make that Judgement Call, Mr Steve I could continue to type you more but I think that you get what I’m saying, These Pharmacist are playing Dr and they do not have a License to do this, they are wanting Patience to take a 12 hour med  that Cost triple and then they want you to take 4 hour med like 1 per day, and the cost of 4 hour med  cost pennies compared to the 12 hour Med.

How in the World can they get away with this & treating people who need there Medication every  month, 

I have been told that WALGREENS has provided their pharmacists a means to “black ball” a pt in Walgreen’s pharmacy computer system and that it applies to all 10,000 of their stores. If this is true, it would suggest that Walgreen’s has a high degree of confidence in the opinions of their employed pharmacists… and/or they could care less if their pharmacists fill any controlled medication prescriptions.

I have also been told that the only one who can remove that “black ball” is the pharmacist that put that flag on the pt’s records in the Walgreen’s pharmacy software system.

I routinely question why pts – who have been treated poorly by a chain pharmacist – that they want to continue to patronize that same chain..  Personally, it doesn’t matter the type of business… I refuse to BEG some business to let me give them my money.  If they don’t seem to want or appreciate my business I have always been able to find some other business that will be more than willing to respect me and treat me like they appreciate my patronage.

As always, here is a link to find a independent pharmacy by zip code for those pts who are tired of being treated more like a inconvenience to the employees of a business  http://www.ncpanet.org/home/find-your-local-pharmacy

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TO DO LIST:
File a complaint against ICE with Office for Civil Rights & Civil Liberties, within Dept. of Homeland Security 202-401-1474
Call the RNC and blast them for trying to blame their policy on the Dems, as they engage in horrific cruelty. Let them know we’re on to their lies. 202-863-8500
Call the White House Comment line. Speak your mind as you choose. 202-456-6213
Call the DOJ Comment Line. Tell Jeff Sessions how you feel about separating children from parents at our border 202-353-1555
Call the United Nations, and tell them they must intervene, in any way they can 1-212-963-1234

Please call and share.

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http://www.wtol.com/story/38449491/marci-satchwell-death-man-stole-cancer-patients-pain-medication-before-dumping-body-in-kentucky

COVINGTON, KY (FOX19) –

A murder suspect is accused of stealing a cancer patient’s medication before dumping her body in a wooded area last week.

Kenneth Jones, 38, targeted his own cousin, Denita “Marci” Satchwell, in a plot to take her painkillers, according to court documents filed in Kenton County.

58-year-old Satchwell was a Stage 4 lung cancer patient and in “frail and in poor health,” documents show. Police called Satchwell an “easy target” for the robbery because she had a large number of painkillers in her Covington residence.

Satchwell was reported missing a little over a week ago. Her body was found Friday in the woods of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky.   

The cause of her death is not known.

Covington Police discovered that Jones and an underage accomplice planned and carried out the robbery at Satchwell’s house, which “resulted in the death of the victim,” court documents show.

Jones stored Satchwell’s body in the trunk of a vehicle overnight, police said.

Jones and the juvenile then drove to Boone County and dumped the body in the woods. After that, the pair tried to remove DNA evidence from the vehicle.

They are both charged with murder, attempted robbery and tampering with evidence.

A third suspect, Braedon Reaves, 18, is charged with facilitation to homicide.

Jones is being held at the Kenton County Detention Center on a $1 million dollar bond. 

Reaves is being held at the Kenton County Detention Center.

The juvenile is being held at the Campbell County Juvenile Detention Facility. 

Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call Detective Jess Hamblin at 859-292-2375.

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AMA opposes CVS-Aetna deal

https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/ama-opposes-cvs-aetna-deal/526112/

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