Apparently the Walgreen's slogan, "At the corner of happy and healthy" doesn't apply to its employees.
When I stopped at my local Walgreen's today to buy a card, I noticed a large sign out front advertising that it's Senior Citizens Discount Day, so naturally lots of older people were shopping in the store. When I walked in, I was stopped by a pharmacist at a large display advertising immunizations, right at the front of the store, and he kindly offered to give me a flu shot if I hadn't had one yet. (I have.)
It sure gives the impression that Walgreen's is kind to senior citizens and concerned about health, doesn't it? Oh, but then you get to the checkout........
The cashier, a middle-aged woman who has worked at this Walgreen's for years, looked like hell. She was congested, coughing, barely able to croak out any words. When I asked what was going on, and why on earth she was at work in this condition, she told me she was also running a fever.
But, when she tried to call in sick, she said, her boss told her that if she wanted to remain employed, she better get to work. So she did, viruses and all.
Since she was the only cashier on duty, everyone in the store who bought anything, including the vulnerable senior citizens, had to visit her register and presumably get exposed to whatever illness she has. I felt so sorry for her, since she still had several hours left in her shift.
So apparently, "happy and healthy" is supposed to apply to customers (sometimes), not to Walgreen's employees who get sick and risk losing their jobs if they stay home. I was so furious that when I got home, I wrote to the Divisional Office of Walgreen's, with the cashier's permission, and told them this story.
I demanded a response and told them I would NOT be shopping at Walgreen's again unless I got a satisfactory answer. Chances are they will ignore me, I suppose, but if they do I'll write again and again until someone answers me.
It's a small incident, I know, but somebody needs to speak up for workers who are treated like shit. And I know that here on Daily Kos, we do speak up!
Wed Oct 22, 2014 at 11:22 AM PT: I just stopped into the Walgreen's to see if the cashier was at work, and talked to another woman who has worked there a long time. The cashier got a note from her doctor and stayed home sick today....yay! The other woman assured me the cashier wouldn't get fired for my complaint, because Walgreen's keeps their staffing to a minimum and can't afford to lose an experienced worker. Still no response from Walgreen's about my complaint, but that's no surprise.