Red Cross Workers Hit Picket Lines

PHILADELPHIA - More than 200 workers who usually staff Red Cross blood banks in our area were instead walking the picket line Tuesday morning.

Red Cross Workers Hit Picket Lines: MyFoxPHILLY.com

They are striking over donor safety and working conditions. Fox 29 received word Monday night that talks between the Red Cross workers and management broke down. The workers set their strike to begin at 7 a.m. Tuesday at seven local locations, including donor centers in Philadelphia and Willow Grove in Pennsylvania and Pennsauken and Princeton in New Jersey. The striking workers include nurses and donor collection staff. The Health Professionals and Allied Employees Local represents about 30 percent of workers at the roughly 20 blood drives that happen daily in the Philadelphia metropolitan region. Red Cross spokesman Anthony Tornetta said people can still donate blood but should check with the Red Cross for any scheduling changes. The sticking points in the negotiations include issues related to staffing, scheduling, training and collective bargaining rights. The union said no new talks have been scheduled. "We wish that the national Red Cross would live up to the humanitarian mission that they claim to have," union representative Jeanne Otersen said. "The Blood Services Division that our members work for treats its people very differently than the image that they like to, you know, put out there to the public," she said. "Our workers work really long hours, they drive everywhere they have to go to make sure that we have a safe and adequate blood supply in the Pennsylvania and New Jersey area, yet they're being asked to work longer hours with less staff for less pay." The two sides bargained for 13 hours on Monday night, and the union said it offered to put some of the toughest issues into arbitration so they could show up to work on Tuesday. "The real issue is that it's national Red Cross calling the shots across the country trying to mandate a one-size-fits-all contract without any concern for this local community," Otersen said, adding that the union did all that it could to avoid the strike. She said what members "want to do is make sure they're safe, which means their donors are safe, which means ultimately, if you're the one receiving the blood, you're safe, too. That's too important to just put off and accept any contract."