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Become an ally of Cure CVS's Unlock the Condoms Initiative! Link to our petition using our handy web buttons. Right click on the version you like and "Save Image As" to save it to your computer for use on your site.

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Representatives from over 200 community groups have signed a letter calling on CVS CEO Tom Ryan to adopt a company-wide policy prohibiting locked condom cases in CVS stores. On Thursday, June 11, in Dupont Circle in Washington, DC., the Cure CVS Unlock the Condoms initiative  made these demands public with a press conference and rally. The initiative encourages everyone to sign our petition asking CVS to Unlock the Condoms!



Protesters gathered in Dupont Circle this afternoon, near the CVS pharmacy there, for a press conference and to protest CVS's practice of locking condom cases disproportionately in communities of color. To read more about CVS's condom lockup practices, click here.

DC_6-11-091.jpgOver 200 community groups - working on issues from women's health to HIV/AIDS prevention - are calling on CVS CEO Tom Ryan to unlock condom cases in the company's nearly 7,000 stores nationwide. Representatives from several of the groups convened today in Washington, DC. to rally for the cause and discuss the issue publicly.

Public health advocates have criticized the practice of locking condom cases, saying that it creates a barrier to access and stigmatizes condoms, both of which could lead to decreased condom use.

Even more unsettling is the fact that CVS disproportionately locks condom cases in communities of color and Latino communities. Surveys of more than 2,200 CVS stores found that the company locks up condoms in 19 of 21 markets surveyed. In 9 of those markets, CVS is at least three times more likely to lock condoms in communities of color than in white communities.

CVS locks condoms in these communities despite the fact that HIV/AIDS is the number one killer of black American women between  the ages of 25 and 34, and the rate of new HIV infections among Latinos is three times the rate of whites.

Join hundreds of individuals nationwide who have already called on CVS to unlock its condom cases by signing our petition to the company here.




Above, photos from Cure CVS rallies in Indianapolis and Chicago today. Protesters spoke out against CVS's continuning sale of expired products at its stores.

At actions in nine cities today, community members, consumer advocates and social activists spoke out against CVS's ongoing practice of selling expired products. Here is some of what was said today.

"I live in this community, right nearby this CVS. What bothers me is that CVS doesn't seem to have any problem taking our money, but seems less concerned about how they treat us in return. Rhode Island subsidizes CVS in many ways. We have a right to expect CVS to respect the community and ensure safe, quality products." - John Prince, Direct Action for Rights and Equality, Providence, RI.

"CVS needs to clean up its act immediately and stop putting the health of our communities at risk. CVS's record of selling expired goods is disgraceful. You'd think CVS would figure out a way to get it right by now if it really cared, but maybe it thinks it's good business sense to sell us bad goods. I think CVS is dead wrong." - Shaun Martinez, United Students Against Sweatshops, Baltimore, MD.

"[Selling expired products] is a serious health concern. In a time where we have record high unemployment rate and thus yielding a high rate of uninsured we can't afford to have corporations like CVS selling us expired goods -- eggs and mayonnaise, are dangerous when they go bad. The well-being of our youth relies on well balanced nutrition. What sort of message are we sending to our community and our state when we allow companies like CVS to sell infant formula and medicine for kids that are expired well over 6 months! This is not something to play around with. As a state we must do all we can to ensure that we fight for a healthy RI - understanding that we ALL suffer when we allow this type of discrepancies to go unanswered."  - Ivette Luna, Ocean State Action, Providence, RI.



Cure CVS activists and allies gathered outside the CVS pharmacy at 115 W. 125th St. in Harlem today to protest the company's repeated health code violations.

During an inspection on February 12, 2009, state health inspectors found (emphasis added):
  • "Bag (4oz) of pop corn in storage room found to be rodent defiled with mouse droppings and gnaw marks. Product destroyed under signed waiver during inspection."
  • "One mouse carcass is present on retail area floor under candy display."
  • "20-30 fresh appearing mouse droppings are present under retail candy display. Spilled food and packaging material with gnaw marks noted in same area."
  • "200-250 fresh appearing mouse droppings are present in storage area on floor and shelves."
Click here to download a fact sheet (PDF) with more information about CVS's health code violations in New York City.



006.jpgActivists gathered in Boston, Miami and Washington, DC, today to spread the word about CVS's recurring problems with expired products and locked condom cases.

As community groups gathered in Boston, leafletters handed out fliers in Washington and protestors spoke out in Miami. Throughout the day's events, a recurring theme emerged: consumers are tired of CVS's behavior.

In Miami, surveyors found that 58% of area CVS stores had expired products on their shelves, while over a third of stores kept condoms under lock and key. South Florida Jobs With Justice (SFJWJ), South Florida Interfaith Worker Justice (SFIWJ), National Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ), Healthcare For All Florida, South Florida AFL-CIO, Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC), Students Working for Equal Rights (SWER), A. Philip Randolph Institute, Miami Dade Chapter (APRI), and SEIU 32BJ Florida, Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC)-Miami all joined Cure CVS in speaking out against the practice.

The Miami Herald quoted Change to Win Executive Director Chris Chafe saying, "This is offensive to our members who go to work and work hard everyday, including those who work in the stores...We're quite sure as an industry leader they can, should and must do better."

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