Time for the Red Cross to Honor Its History

April 26, 2010

For over a year, AFSCME Local 3145 (Council 4) members employed by the American Red Cross (ARC) in Connecticut have been working without a contract. Who would have thought that an organization with the ARC’s history would treat its workers so poorly?

And yet, the problem faced by our AFSCME brothers and sisters – nurses, laboratory technicians, phlebotomists, drivers and others employed at the organization’s offices in Farmington, Conn. – is only the latest in a series of unfair labor practices involving the organization.

According to a recent statement by the AFL-CIO Executive Council:

ARC’s most aggressive anti-worker policies have been directed at more than 3,000 employees who are represented by unions. Between 1996 and 2007, more than 200 unfair labor practice charges were filed against ARC with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

ARC has also exhibited a troubling pattern of understaffing blood drives and downgrading its staff by eliminating the most experienced, licensed medical personnel. This has fostered high turnover and increased the risk of blood safety errors on the job.

The consequences of these practices speak for themselves: Since 2003, the Federal Food and Drug Administration has fined ARC nearly $21 million for repeated safety failures.

AFSCME members know this too well.

“There are blood drives that go out without licensed medical personnel,” Local 3145 president Christine Holschlag, a phlebotomist, told the New Britain Herald.

This is why Local 3145 members have formed a national coalition of unionized Red Cross employees, community groups and blood safety organizations to fight for better working conditions and ensure the safety of donors. They also voted in favor of joining a national strike if Red Cross workers decide to take that action. Along with this AFSCME local, eight other local unions nationwide have expired labor contracts with ARC. Eight more contracts are set to expire by the end of June 2010.

Local 3145 is still in contract negotiations with the Red Cross. But members are not wavering in their fight to gain respect. To help raise awareness of the ARC’s anti-worker, anti-safety stance, they’ve held numerous public actions, including informational leafleting and rallies in Washington, DC, and Farmington. The local’s members are also pursuing state legislation that would require a licensed, trained nurse to oversee blood drives.

It’s time for the Red Cross to honor its history and start protecting donors, keeping blood safe and respecting workers.