American Red Cross National Bargaining Update, June 11
UNION MEMBERS SAY “WE’VE HAD ENOUGH!”
At the national bargaining session on June 5-7, the Union Coalition ended negotiations with ARC Management after another week of no real progress. Here is what happened:
We proposed improvements to scheduling, staffing, and worker and donor safety. Also, we presented economic proposals on hours, premiums, and time off.
Workers were in the room from across the country and told ARC Management that we want more input and flexibility in work schedules. Workers shared stories of not having enough time to spend with families due to changes to scheduling, and that it is too difficult to make long-term plans for time off.
The Union Coalition continues to propose solutions that are beneficial to Red Cross as an organization and its employees. However, the proposals presented by ARC Management suggest they do not understand the impact of sacrifices made by workers.
When Management came to the table on the last day of bargaining with wanting to take MORE money out of our pockets, rather than working together with us to improve our lives and working conditions, we told them that we have had enough!
What’s Next? We will come back to the table for the last scheduled bargaining session, but we need to FIGHT for our demands – and you can help!
Union members are clear about how to improve the organization and improve our working conditions. The proposals presented by Management tell us that ARC does not understand our day-to-day lives. Many of us are living paycheck to paycheck.
The Union proposals are about investing in the employees, decreasing turnover, and saving millions of dollars. Until ARC demonstrates that it plans to negotiate a national agreement that is responsive to the needs of workers, the Coalition is withdrawing from all collaborative work with Red Cross until we have a tentative agreement.
We believe in the value of labor-management partnership, but not at the expense of those who keep the organization going.
Let’s show that we are in this fight together.
We Can Win When We Stand Up Together
Thousands of union members across the country are standing together to show we are united and to fight for better working conditions!
How You Can Help:
Starting Saturday at the WMMR Drive, we’ll be wearing our HPAE buttons to show our solidarity. We’ll continue to wear them during the week. Additionally, we will be joining thousands of coalition members across the country by wearing our unity button on Tuesday (6/19) Wednesday (6/20) and Thursday (6/21), the final week of national bargaining, to show our unity and our strength! We cannot wear the unity buttons on our uniforms at work, but we can wear them on personal clothing such as jackets, or on a keychain or pocketbook. Our HPAE buttons can be worn on our uniforms.
Look for your button!
We will provide information about your rights in a pamphlet with the button. Look out for robocalls, Facebook posts and emails to find out how to get both buttons.
Your National Union Bargaining Team:
- The Coalition of American Red Cross Unions is made up of Locals from 9 national unions: AFSCME, AFT, CWA, IBT, IUOE, SEIU, UAW, UFCW, and USW.
- Our national union bargaining team is: Raven Hall (Chief Negotiator); Gary Gorski (AFSCME); Ann Twomey (AFT); Erin Bowie/Jaytricia Tremel (CWA); Nina Bugbee (Teamsters); Kathy McCormick (SEIU); Ellen Wallace (UAW); Dale Parker (UFCW); and Darryl Ford (Steelworkers).
Last week over 30 Red Cross bargaining unit employees in Collections, Manufacturing, Donor Recruitment, Lab, Hospital Services, Kitting, Maintenance, Clerical, etc., union leaders, and union advisers joined the bargaining team to lend their personal experiences and expertise.