County Pharmacists Take Strike Into Second Day
Los Angeles County pharmacists stayed off the job a second day Wednesday in a contract dispute, forcing indigent patients to take their prescriptions to private pharmacies.
The pharmacists are represented by the Guild for Professional Pharmacists, not part of the far larger Local 660 of Service Employees International Union, which Tuesday called off a strike after reaching a tentative agreement on fringe benefits. No other work stoppages were reported Wednesday.
County health officials said that all of the union pharmacists were out at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew and Olive View medical centers. In all, 101 of the 122 union pharmacists stayed out at six public hospitals. “We declared an impasse with them about two weeks ago,” county negotiator Jim Ellman said, adding that he hopes to resume negotiations today. He could not provide details on the salary dispute, and union officials could not be reached.
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