Blood drives imperiled by job actions at Red Cross

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.buffalonews.com/2010/07/18/1116291/blood-drives-imperiled-by-job.html

Union has not agreed to contract terms

By Abram Brown NEWS STAFF REPORTER
Updated: July 18, 2010, 6:41 am / Published: July 18, 2010, 12:30 am

Local American Red Cross officials fear that further labor strikes would hamper the efforts of local blood drives.

“It clearly wouldn’t allow us to operate the number that we would want,” said Kay Schwartz, Red Cross New York-Penn Blood Region Chief Executive Officer.

Ninety-one Red Cross workers who draw blood went on strike for three days in early June, protesting contract negotiations and alleged labor law violations. They are members of Communications Workers of America Local 1122, which also represents 50 tele-communications staff who call and recruit potential donors.

The union is considering another strike, continuing its protest, but no dates have been set for a strike, said union President James Wagner.

“This union will exhaust any effort and any resource to stop the harm and remedy the harm that these labor violations are causing our workers,” Wagner said.

During the June strike, the Red Cross could only hold about two to three blood drives per day. The organization usually holds about 10 daily, Schwartz said.

FULL story at link.

[Better Today]

1. Excellent, though I would blame the ARC and not the strikers.

ARC can just treat their workers fairly and pay them fairly, instead we see implications that it's the union's fault.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. I used to work for the ARC, here in SoCal...

We struck them once while I was there. Everyone suffered. The staff, the donors, even the management. They were not used to doing the donor work.