LOS ANGELES COUNTY : Pharmacists at 7 County Hospitals Stage Sickout
Nearly all the pharmacists at Los Angeles County’s seven hospitals stayed off the job again Tuesday to protest a three-year wage freeze and cuts in overtime.
However, Ralph Vogel, president of the Guild for Professional Pharmacists, said the sickout will be short, with pharmacists expected to return to work today.
But he warned that the pharmacists will walk off the job again if no agreement is reached. He said 210 of the 220 pharmacists who work for the county hospitals were off the job Tuesday. The union has been negotiating with the county for several months.
“Basically, we’re getting no place fast,” Vogel said.
Paul Giannini, a staff analyst for the county Department of Health Services, said supervisors and management personnel are filling prescriptions and outpatient clinic work is being performed by pharmacists hired by the county.
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