AMERICAN RED CROSS Ohio chapter becomes first in nation to unionize

A new labor contract calls for bonuses and a seniority system.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- American Red Cross employees in northern Ohio overwhelmingly approved a labor deal with the charity after more than two years of legal fights, becoming the first Red Cross chapter in the nation to unionize.
International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 507 in Cleveland said the contract was ratified by about 80 percent of those who voted, 146-15.
The union covers about 200 blood collection workers and assistants with the Red Cross' mobile unit as well as about 30 Red Cross drivers in the Northern Ohio Blood Services division of the American Red Cross, which serves 19 Ohio counties, including those in the Mahoning Valley.
The four-year agreement approved Sunday includes immediate bonuses, creates a seniority system and promises future pay raises. Specific details were not disclosed.
"We are very happy that the contract has been ratified by the employees, and we are looking forward to a very productive, strong relationship working with the Teamsters," Karen Kelley, spokeswoman for the Northern Ohio Blood Services division of the Red Cross said Tuesday.
Long battle
Al R. Mixon, Local 507 secretary-treasurer, said he was proud of the workers for hanging in despite nearly 21/2 years of legal battling at the National Labor Relations Board. The workers first organized in September 2004 but the Red Cross appealed to the board.
"In this harsh legal climate for organizing workers it is truly extraordinary everyone stayed unified," Mixon said.
In August, Red Cross workers in Tucson, Ariz., rejected an attempt to organize with the Teamsters. Pro-union workers said they hoped collective bargaining would improve what they called unfair working conditions, including long hours.
The union also has tried unsuccessfully to organize Red Cross workers in Missouri.
Mixon said that now that the Cleveland union has been able to successfully organize and negotiate a contract, the Teamsters plan to rejuvenate their efforts at Red Crosses nationwide.
"They want to use what we did, getting through a long struggle, as a model," he said Tuesday.