What is usually an opportunity for people to give the gift of life through blood donations during the holidays is being seen by AFSCME Union members as an opportunity to leverage their power to strike. Employees of the American Red Cross’s six Wisconsin facilities voted to initiate a strike during the region’s largest blood drive should management fail to reach an agreement with them before their current contract expires next Thursday. The union says their grounds are the management’s unfair labor practices and refusal to bargain in good faith. The union plans to target the Red Cross’s 37th annual Holiday Blood Drive at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison on December 23rd, where members will picket and not work the collection effort.
AFSCME Council 32 Executive Director Patrick Wycoff said that management has refused to negotiate in good faith with employees for sixteen months, and “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.”
There’s no indication that Sheboygan area collections would be affected at this time. For those who do wish to donate, here’s the list of upcoming local collections.
Cedar Grove
12/13/2022: 12:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., Faith Reformed Church, 243 S Fourth Street
Plymouth
12/21/2022: 12 p.m. – 5 p.m., Ladewig Zinkgraf American Legion Post 243, 40 S Stafford Street
Sheboygan
12/9/2022: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Sheboygan Trades and Labor Hall, 1104 Wisconsin Ave
12/16/2022: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Sheboygan Trades and Labor Hall, 1104 Wisconsin Ave
12/30/2022: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Sheboygan Trades and Labor Hall, 1104 Wisconsin Ave
1/6/2023: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Sheboygan Trades and Labor Hall, 1104 Wisconsin Ave
Comments