Walgreens joins other retailers with starting pay boost

Walgreens will hike starting pay to $15 an hour beginning in October, as employers across the United States continue boosting wages to attract workers

Walgreens will hike starting pay to $15 an hour beginning in October, as employers across the United States continue boosting wages to attract workers. The drugstore chain said Tuesday that the wage hike will take effect in phases and be completed by November 2022. It will affect workers in the U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, where the company has about 190,000 hourly employees and 9,100 store locations. Around half of those employees already earn at least $15 an hour, spokesman Phil Caruso said. He added that starting wages vary according to market but are currently not less than $10 per hour. CEO Roz Brewer said in a statement from the company that the pay raise was both the right thing to do and “highly important” to attracting and keeping workers.