Avon Red Cross Office Picketed by Strikers

Members of Teamsters Local 507 are picketing at the Avon American Red Cross collection center on Center Road as they continue their strike against the American Red Cross Northern Ohio Blood Services Region, which started on Tuesday.

About a dozen picketers were walking the sidewalk along the west side of Center Street on Wednesday afternoon. Several passing cars and trucks honked, waved and gave thumbs-up to the picketers. One man pulled into the parking lot and talked with two of the picketers to find out more.

The Avon Red Cross center was closed on Wednesday. In a statement, the Red Cross said it was "exasperated" at the strike, saying the union had rejected pay and benefits on par with non-union employees.

Blood will be brought in from outside the region, the Red Cross said.

"It is unconscionable that this union would consider potentially compromising the lives of patients to further their own agenda," the Red Cross said in its statement.

Issues include health insurance costs for employees, staffing and compensation for part-time workers, Judy Wickham, one of the employees on strike, said. 

"I was blown away," Wickham, who is on the Teamsters' negotiating committee, said. "I never thought we'd have to do this. None of us wanted to do this. We've been negotiating since last April. But they rejected every single one of our proposals when we gave our ten-day notice (of intent to strike)."

The Red Cross has been raising goals for blood drives while cutting staff, she said.

"We've got people putting in 50 to 60 hours in a five-day work week," Wickham said. "That makes for tired staff and understaffed collection centers."

Wickham said one of the union's requests was an increase in the clothing allowance for the required uniforms. The clothing allowance is taxed as income, she said, and that cut into the allowance makes it harder for employees to replace damaged or worn-out uniforms.