MADISON, Wis. — Employees of the American Red Cross’s six Wisconsin facilities have announced they have voted to initiate a strike during the region’s largest blood drive later this month.
According to a press release, the AFSCME employees’ union said that the strike will protest management’s unfair labor practices (ULPs) and their ongoing refusal to bargain in good faith.
“For sixteen months, management at Red Cross in Wisconsin has refused to negotiate in good faith with their employees,” AFSCME Council 32 Executive Director Patrick Wycoff said. “When they finally came to the table, they told the employees that there was no money left for them because they spent it all on raises for workers in other states. These unfair labor practices have forced the workers into a position where their only choice is to strike, and our union will stand with them.”
“After exhausting all attempts to bargain in good faith with our employer,” said Kristena Schmitz, President of Local 1205 from Green Bay, “we are left with no other option but to withhold our labor. If we don’t reach an agreement by December 15th, we will not be working the holiday blood drive on December 23rd.”
In their statement, the ADSCME employees’ union said they plan this strike until management reaches an agreement with the union before their current contract expires on December 15th.
The Red Cross released a statement on Thursday to News 3 Now concerning the strike, saying:
“The American Red Cross has received notification that members of AFSCME Local 1205 and 1558 may initiate a work stoppage on or around December 23 if a successor agreement cannot be reached by the contract expiration date on December 15. This action could disrupt local blood collections during the holiday season – a challenging time to collect blood that patients in need are counting on.”
According to the release from the ADSCME, the members of AFSCME Locals 1205 and 1558 have been trying to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement since August of 2021. They said after several months, management had canceled or rescheduled 21 meetings and had attended only one—after the employees filed their first ULP charge.
“They began holding regular meetings this past summer the workers filed a second charge. By then, company officials were claiming that—during their months of not scheduling meetings—they had spent all available funds to significantly increase wages on their employees in other states like Minnesota and Illinois who saw significant wage increases not being offered in Wisconsin. The workers ultimately filed a third charge containing a larger list of ULPs in September of this year,” the ADSCME said in the release.
The Red Cross did not mention the allocation of funds between states in their press release. However, the non-profit did comment on the specifics of Wisconsin’s specific available funds for employees.
“In Wisconsin, the offer includes lump sum bonuses, annual wage increases, enhancements to safety, holidays and quality affordable healthcare, as well as a new Paid Family Leave benefit. Along with these improvements, we are also proposing to increase the local hiring rates in Wisconsin with other language improvements in relating to staffing, scheduling, work/life balance, and more. The offer specifically allows union members to enroll in the new Coalition medical plan beginning in 2023,” said the Red Cross in their release.
The Red Cross said is scheduled for another negotiations session on Monday.
“It is our hope that, like their fellow union members elsewhere, the AFSCME-represented employees in Wisconsin will vote to ratify both the national agreement and their local agreement,” said the Red Cross in their release
The Red Cross says that while this announcement does not guarantee that a work stoppage will occur, the Red Cross says it has plans in place and is well-prepared to continue meeting the blood needs of hospitals and patients if a strike begins.
The Red Cross supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood.
The strike is planned to take place between 5:00 AM and 10:00 PM on Friday, December 23rd. The employees said they will form a picket line outside Red Cross’s 37th annual Holiday Blood Drive at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison and ask all public allies to join Wisconsin’s Red Cross workers in solidarity.
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