Kinney Drugs increases wages, installs protective shields for workers

Kinney Drugs has taken additional steps to protect customers and employees and to help stop the spread of COVID-19. All Kinney Drugs locations now have acrylic shields installed in the pharmacy drop-off and pick-up areas and at the front registers. Kinney's employees also are getting a pay boost.

The company said it was instating a $2-per-hour increase for its 3,252 hourly employees during the coronavirus crisis.

As for the acrylic shields, their installation was the result of Kinney working with a fellow local business to protect its employees. 

“This is a perfect example of how our employee-owners can work together with local partners to make things happen fast,” Rebecca Bubel, Kinney Drugs president said on Friday. “Just this past Saturday, we put this plan into motion. Here we are, less than one week later, and all 97 stores have them installed. Our construction and merchandising operations teams were nothing short of amazing."

Bubel said the team worked with Small Town Supply ACE Hardware, a longtime neighbor and business partner based in Gouverneur, N.Y. Small Town Supply sourced the acrylic in Wilton, N.Y., and the Kinney team drove to pick up the raw materials, which they brought back and hand-drilled to build the shields. "They were installed less than 48 hours later in all stores in New York and Vermont," she said. "It’s pretty incredible.”

Clark Porter, owner of Small Town Supply ACE Hardware, said, “We are just trying to fill any void that we can possibly right now during this challenging time. We’ve been working with Kinney for several years, and we are very happy that we could help with this project.”

“It’s times like these that make me so proud both of our truly amazing employees and the fabulous community partnerships we have built. Our store teams and customers are so grateful,” Bubel said.