Crisis Communications: Pharmacist Strike!

Corporations are defined by how they deal with crisis. It can make or break their reputation and the trust their consumers have in them. In 2005 pharmacists at about 400 Walgreens in northern Illinois and northwestern Indiana walked off the job complaining of inadequate staffing levels that they said could threaten patient safety.

In the Chicago Sun Times, Walgreens spokesman Michael Polzin said all the affected pharmacies would remain open, but for less hours, which still meant 8am until midnight. The pharmacies were staffed by nonunion pharmacists and technicians. Polzin said the consumer relations department received calls from customers with questions about the strike, but the company had not received any complaints.

Walgreens was the first to give information about the strike before rumors started. Before the strike kicked off Walgreens' national director of pharmacy affairs, Phil Burgess, went on ABC Chicago and explained what their plan was if the union followed through with the strike. He reassured the public that pharmacies would stay open and pharmacists not involved in the union would continue to work and managers would come in from different regions. This showed that Walgreens had these plans already in place in case of a crisis. After the strike began the Walgreens spokesman, Michael Polzin, was chosen to address the media and be the single source of information throughout the strike to allow the public to put a face to the corporation and build confidence that Walgreens would take care of their customers throughout the strike.

According to 'Drug Topics' magazine, Polzin said "Publicly, union leaders talk about safety issues, but that is not what they are emphasizing at the bargaining table. Pay is always an issue and we have a very fair offer that keeps our pharmacies well staffed and pays our pharmacists well over $100,000 a year. Our pay package is a 20% raise over four years. Plus we have great benefits such as a stock-option plan and a profit-sharing plan. The profit-sharing plan matches over three dollars for every dollar that pharmacists contribute."

Polzin did a great job explaining their pay package and helping the public see that Walgreens is a good company to work for and that they do take care of their employees. He did say the pharmacists only wanted money, which may have upset the pharmacists, but he was being honest with the media.

Another thing the union worried about was the company's elimination of a staffing review committee. They argued that pharmacists filled over 500 prescriptions a day, and the review committee gave pharmacists an opportunity to request and document if they needed additional staffing.

In response, Polzin said the average number of prescriptions filled by pharmacists at the chain's stores is 280 a day, not 500. He added, "Our proposal does not eliminate the review committee, contrary to what the union has stated. Our proposal will make that committee more efficient. So rather than taking two to three months to get an answer back to the pharmacist, it will take only 10 to 20 working days."

Polzin's response was perfect because he corrected the inaccurate number of prescriptions filled a day and he corrected the negative idea of the review committee. He didn't admit fault for the strike, but addressed the pharmacists' complaints. During this strike Walgreens ran print and radio ads to let patients know that its pharmacies were still open. Walgreens handled the situation professionally and came out pretty clean. The pharmacists ended the three-week strike not getting what they requested, but feeling they at least forced Walgreens to be more aware of staffing levels and patient safety. Both sides seemed to end the strike without much animosity.