Blood drive workers plan strike tomorrow

[Omaha Steve]

Source: News Works

By Carolyn Beeler

Blood Services workers who staff traveling blood drives in Southeast Pennsylvania and New Jersey say they will strike Tuesday if they can't reach a contract agreement with the Red Cross before then. The groups had reached an agreement to extend the existing contract by a day to allow for more bargaining, but union representatives said a strike is likely.

Renee Conyers is co-president of Health Professionals and Allied Employees local 5103, which represents about 250 workers. She said they are pushing for more staffing in general and to have a registered nurse on site at each drive. Conyers said she is worried possible changes to scheduling protocol will mean longer and more irregular hours.

"If the worker has worked the night before until 10 or 11 o'clock and they get home at one or two o'clock and have to be at work the next morning at six o'clock, the safety of the donor, that's what we're concerned about," Conyers said.

Red Cross spokesman Anthony Tornetta would not comment on specifics of the negotiations, but said the Red Cross is asking the union to make sacrifices other employees did in 2010.

Read more: http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/component/flexicontent/item/20076-strike

---

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Good for those workers.

We fought those same battles with the Red Cross out here in Los Angeles, and won.

If a nurse is tired, her judgement is affected, and there goes donor safety.

You want to take good care of your donors and if you're tired, you can't.

[sweetapogee]

2. if donating

if donating blood is that dangerous then it should be done in a ER not a bloodmobile.