Workers Tell Red Cross: Safety First

by James Parks, May 29, 2009

Workers and their supporters held informational pickets at Red Cross locations across the country today to tell the organization that donor and recipient safety must come first. The actions spotlighted the Red Cross’ plans to boost profits by jeopardizing the safety of our nation’s blood supply and mistreating workers.

Carrying signs proclaiming “Donors Before Dollars” and chanting “We are the Red Cross,” some 200 people joined a giant inflatable rat to “blow the whistle” on the Red Cross at its national headquarters in Washington, D.C. The marchers picketed in front of the building during the busy lunch hour, just blocks from the White House.

Most of the marchers are concerned that blood safety will suffer because the Red Cross national office is insisting that workers take pay cuts and that qualified nurses be replaced with unlicensed supervisors. Some carried handmade signs saying, “Nurses Are Needed” and “No Blood Money.” Said one marcher who asked not to be identified:

Here is an organization that made millions of dollars in donations last year and it can’t share that with the folks that make the Red Cross what it is.

One major problem, rally organizers say, is that national Red Cross officials have taken over contract negotiations that used to be handled by local or regional officials. Joe Marutiak, a member of Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU) Local 459 in Michigan, said even though contract negotiations have been hard over the years, “we have always been able to respect each other and resolve our differences.”

But this year the national Red Cross took over the negotiations entirely and the respect for the employees is gone.

Workers also protested in New London, Conn., Buffalo, N.Y., St. Louis, Oakland and Pleasanton, Calif., and East Lansing, Mich.

For 15 years, the Red Cross has been under a federal court order to improve its blood donor operation. Despite $21 million in fines since 2003, it continues to fall short. According to the New York Times:

Such measures, however, are undercut by high turnover among employees, who are paid little better than minimum wage, former executives say.

But rather than pay its workers a decent wage, the Red Cross is trying to force employees to work unlimited hours, replace nurses with unlicensed supervisors, slash workers’ health care and cut or freeze wages.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says in a statement that the Red Cross’ actions demonstrate why workers need to be protected:

For decades there was a great relationship between workers and the Red Cross and it’s a shame that they are now engaging in this disgraceful behavior that endangers donors and workers. This is yet another example of why we need to pass the Employee Free Choice Act so workers have the freedom to choose to join a union.

Union leaders negotiating with the Red Cross around the country echoed Sweeney’s sentiments. Larry Dorman, a spokesman for AFSCME Council 4 in Connecticut, said:

The Red Cross workers we represent in Connecticut are currently stuck working without a contract. The company is endangering donor safety by attempting to decrease the use of RNs and LPNs and reducing the amount of time off between shifts.

In New York state, Red Cross employees represented by Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1122 are currently working without a contract and already have made major concessions in the two previous pacts, says local President Jim Wagner.

The need for workers to have a free choice to join a union is clear in Illinois, where 180 Red Cross employees voted to join AFSCME Council 31 more than two years ago—but so far, the organization has thrown roadblocks into the recognition process and workers still do not have a union. Says Council 31 President Henry Bayer:

Enough is enough. It’s time to let the workers have the right to join a union that they voted for.

The nationwide events were organized by the National Red Cross Committee for Donor Safety, which is comprised of AFSCME, CWA, OPEIU, SEIU and the Teamsters.

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