Agreement Between

North Central Blood Services of

The American Red Cross

And

American Federation of State, County & Municipal

Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 3931, Council 5

November 1, 2005, through October 31, 2008

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Article No. 01 AGREEMENT 1

Article No. 02 PURPOSE, INTENT AND AGREEMENT EFFECT 1

Article No. 03 DEFINITIONS 2

Article No. 04 RECOGNITION 3

Article No. 05 MANAGEMENT RIGHTS 5

Article No. 06 NO STRIKE - NO LOCKOUT 6

Article No. 07 NON DISCRIMINATION 7

Article No. 08 GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE 8

Article No. 09 ARBITRATION 9

Article No. 10 DISCIPLINE AND DISCHARGE 10

Article No. 11 SAFETY 11

Article No. 12 UNPAID LEAVE OF ABSENCE 11

Article No. 13 EARNED PAID LEAVE 12

Article No. 14 JURY AND MILITARY DUTY 16

Article No. 15 PROBATIONARY PERIOD 16

Article No. 16 SENIORITY 17

Article No. 17 LAYOFF AND RECALL 18

Article No. 18 WORK RULES 19

Article No. 19 SHIFT AND WORK ASSIGNMENT 19

Article No. 20 WORKING HOURS 19

Article No. 21 VACANCIES 21

Article No. 22 INSURANCE AND OTHER NON RETIREMENT BENEFITS 21

Article No. 23 RETIREMENT BENEFITS 22

Article No. 24 CLASSIFICATION AND SALARY RATES 22

Article No. 25 HOLIDAYS 23

Article No. 26 DURATION 25

Article No. 27 SEPARABILITY 25

Article No. 01

Article No. 02

PURPOSE, INTENT AND AGREEMENT EFFECT

Article No. 03

Article No. 04

Upon receipt of a valid signed authorization, the Employer shall deduct from each employee's biweekly pay the duly authorized dues or service fee, payable to the Union for the period specified in such authorization. The amounts of such dues or fees will be certified to the Employer by the Financial Secretary of the Local Union. Failure to authorize either dues deduction or service fee within thirty (30) days of nonprobationary employment shall result in termination.

Deductions authorized by Local 3931 for dues or service fee shall be made biweekly and shall be remitted to the Union no later than the tenth (10th) day of each month for the previous month. If an employee has insufficient earnings, giving due consideration to minimum wage laws, any month to equal the dues deduction or initiation fees deduction, as the case may be, the deduction shall be made in the next payroll period in which the employee has sufficient earnings. The Employer shall furnish the Union each month with a record of deductions made during the month. The Union shall hold the Employer harmless from any and all claims arising from its compliance with this provision.

The Employer shall provide the Union with the name, address, classification, wage rate and hiring date of any new employee hired to fill a job covered by this Agreement, and further, the Employer shall provide the Union with the name of any employee covered by this Agreement who terminates employment.

This Agreement applies only to these employees and not to employees of any other American Red Cross affiliated operating unit or at any other facility.

Section 5. The Employer shall designate a single bulletin board of reasonable size for use by the Union at an accessible location within the NCBS facility determined by the Employer. The Union shall be responsible for maintaining the bulletin board in a neat and professional manner, and shall use the bulletin board for official business only. The Union shall not use, or permit the use of, the bulletin board for purposes derogatory to the Employer or otherwise not suitable for display in the work place.

Section 6. The parties acknowledge their shared commitment to developing and maintaining a workplace environment characterized by mutual respect and effective communication. To assist in that process, the parties will create a bilateral communications committee, comprising an equal number of management members and union representatives. The communications committee shall meet at least once per month, and shall undergo such training, including that provided by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and maintain such records, including minutes, as are reasonably needed to permit the committee to function effectively. The purpose of the committee is to discuss issues of concern to employees and managers, and through the communications process to improve morale and effectiveness in the workplace. The committee shall function as a group intended to increase understanding, promote awareness, facilitate change, and encourage a regular dialogue between managers and union representatives regarding issues of shared concern. Either party may review their continued participation in the committee on an annual basis.

Article No. 05

MANAGEMENT RIGHTS

Section 1. Employer's Rights. It is understood and agreed that all of the rights, powers and authority of the Employer to manage and operate its business and operations are retained and vested in the Employer, except those specifically abridged or modified by this Agreement or any supplementary agreement that may hereafter be made.

Section 2. Management rights reserved to the Employer by this Article include, but are not limited to: the full control, management and operation of its business and its facility; the determination and scope of its activities, services to be provided, and all methods pertaining thereto; the location, size and number of all facility or service areas; the determination of materials, parts, products, machinery and equipment to be acquired or utilized, and the layout and scheduling thereof; the establishment of quality standards, the establishment of productivity standards and services to be rendered; the rights to establish, change, combine or eliminate jobs, duties, job classifications (if any) and job descriptions; the right to establish wage rates for new or changed jobs or positions as provided by Article 4, Section 3 of the Agreement; the right to introduce new or improved procedures, methods, processes, facility, machinery and equipment or to make other changes to promote efficiency, or to make technological changes; the right to maintain order and efficiency and to issue, modify and enforce rules and regulations; the right to lay off employees; the right to discipline or discharge employees for cause as provided by Article 10 of the Agreement; the right to contract or subcontract subject to Section 6 of this Article; the determination of which facility or facility, or part thereof, shall be operated, relocated, shut down, sold or abandoned; the right to terminate, merge, consolidate, sell or otherwise transfer its business or any part thereof; the determination of the number of employees; the assignment of duties to employees including the right to assign work to supervisory employees as provided by Section 5 of this Article; the manning of equipment and the right to change, increase or reduce the same; the direction and control of the work force; the right to be the sole judge of applicants for employment, their qualifications, and fitness; the right to hire or refuse to hire any employee; the right to train; and consistent with the provisions contained in this Agreement, the right to take whatever action that is or may be otherwise necessary in the Employer's judgment and discretion to administer its operations and to direct its employees.

Section 3. The Employer's failure to exercise any prerogative or function hereby reserved to it, or the Employer's exercise of any such prerogative or function in a particular way, shall not be considered a waiver of the Employer's right to exercise such prerogative or function or preclude it from exercising the same in some other way not in conflict with the express provisions of this Agreement.

Section 4. Volunteers. It is recognized by the Employer and the Union that the Red Cross is a volunteer organization. Utilizing the services of volunteers is an important aspect in the Red Cross operations and shall be continued at the Employer's discretion.

Section 5. The Employer agrees that supervisory personnel will perform unit work only (a) in emergency situations, (b) for purposes of training a supervisory employee, unit employee or student intern, (c) for purposes of professional certification or proficiency, (d) on a temporary basis as needed to maintain an orderly flow of production when sufficient qualified Bargaining Unit members are not available on the scheduled shift, or (e) in accordance with past practice.

Section 6. It is understood and agreed by the Union and the Employer that for the Employer to operate its business successfully, subcontracting and contracting of work is a necessary element of the operating process. When the subcontracting or contracting (a) has the intent of laying off unit employees on the active payroll and (b) will have the effect of laying off unit employees on the active payroll, then and only then the Employer will provide the Union with notice fifteen (15) working days in advance of the decision to subcontract or contract and will be available to meet with the Union to discuss the intended subcontracting or contracting during the fifteen (15) working day period.

Article No. 06

NO STRIKE - NO LOCKOUT

Section 1. There shall be no lockout of Employees by the Employer during the term of this Agreement.

Section 2. Neither the Union, its officers, representatives nor unit members shall call, authorize, approve, ratify, or sanction any strike, sympathy strike, slowdown, secondary boycott, work stoppage, sit down strike, any interruption or curtailment of work, or limitation of service of any kind whatsoever during the term of this Agreement. Furthermore, neither the Union, its officers, representatives nor unit members shall call, authorize, approve, ratify, sanction, or engage in any picketing or patrolling against the Employer during the term of this Agreement. Employees working for the Employer are required to cross a picket line in order to perform their service, and the Employer agrees to take reasonable precautions to protect the safety of employees crossing a picket line. The Employer retains all rights to take all actions necessary to remedy any violation of this Article and subsection.

Section 3. The Union shall immediately disavow any conduct or acts prohibited by this Article as being in violation of this Agreement and the Union shall take immediate remedial action upon being notified of any such conduct or act. The Union shall undertake all acts within its power to cause the earliest cessation of such conduct or act, and the Union will report to the Employer within twenty-four (24) hours after it receives notice from the Employer of such conduct or act as to what actions it has taken to remedy same.

Section 4. An employee shall not cause, instigate or take part in any way whatsoever in any strike, work curtailment or restriction of service or any other act prohibited by this Article. Any employee who engages in such conduct or acts or who induces or instigates same shall be subject to summary discharge or other discipline at the Employer's discretion. The degree of discipline imposed, including discharge, shall be solely in the Employer's judgment and discretion and shall not be grievable; the issue of whether or not the employee committed the act, conduct, inducement, instigation or other violation, and only that issue, is subject to review under the grievance procedure.

Article No. 07

NON DISCRIMINATION

Section 1. The parties to this Agreement agree that, continuing their existing policy, neither the Employer nor the Union will discriminate against any employee on the basis of race, religion, age, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation or any other classification protected by applicable federal, state or local law.

Section 2. Every employee shall have the right to a work environment free from discrimination and harassment including freedom from unwelcome derogatory jokes, slurs and comments. The Union and the Employer recognize their shared responsibility to provide a workplace free from discrimination, and the Union agrees to represent all employees in the Bargaining Unit without discrimination, interference, restraint or coercion.

Section 3. Neither the Employer nor the Union will discriminate against any employee because of his or her union status.

Article No. 08

GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

Section 1. A grievance shall be limited to a good faith complaint by an employee that the Employer has violated or failed to apply correctly a specific provision or provisions of this Agreement, not excluded from this grievance procedure.

Section 2. The purpose of the grievance procedure is to facilitate resolution of disputes at the lowest level of the procedure, including where possible through informal resolution. Before filing a formal written grievance, the employee is encouraged to meet with the immediate supervisor and, if the employee requests, a union representative, to discuss and seek a resolution of the problem.

Section 3. Grievances shall be handled and processed in accordance with the following procedure:

Section 4. The failure of the Employer or its designated representative to respond to a grievance or to give the Employer's position within the time periods provided in this Article shall be regarded as a denial of the grievance in all respects.

Section 5. The time limits in any of the steps to the above grievance procedure may be extended only by written mutual agreement. Failure of the Union and/or employee to meet the time limits contained in this Article shall constitute an abandonment of the grievance and shall conclude the grievance procedure as to that matter.

Section 6. A grievance settlement shall in no case be made effective more than ten (10) days before the date on which the grievance was first presented in Step 1 of the Grievance Procedure.

Section 7. In processing a grievance through the Grievance Procedure, the Union shall have control over the processing of the grievance and its resolution on behalf of the employee or employees, subject to the requirement that the affected employee or employees must timely sign the written documents required to present the grievance in Steps 1, 2 and 3 for the grievance to proceed.

Article No. 09

ARBITRATION

Section 1. If notice of a desire to arbitrate is not given within the time limit set forth in Article 8, Section 3, Step 3, then the Employer's decision shall be final and binding. Such notice shall be in writing and shall describe fully the nature of the grievance.

Section 2. Only matters which come within the specific definition of a "grievance" as set forth in Section 1 of Article 8 and which have been properly processed through the regular grievance procedure as set forth herein shall be considered. The parties shall promptly attempt to select an impartial arbitrator by mutual agreement within five (5) week days from date of notice of appeal to arbitration. In the event the Employer and the Union cannot agree on an arbitrator, the Union shall ask the American Arbitration Association to submit a panel of seven (7) arbitrators, and the Employer and the Union shall each have the right to request three (3) such Panels from the American Arbitration Association. The parties will select an Arbitrator by alternately striking names from the panel, with the party bringing the matter to arbitration striking the first name from such list. The Arbitrator remaining shall be designated as the Arbitrator to consider the matter in dispute.

Section 3. The Arbitrator shall have authority to decide only the issue(s) submitted to him and shall have no authority to change, amend, modify, supplement, or otherwise alter in any respect whatsoever this Agreement or any part hereof. Any award of the Arbitrator within the above limitation shall not be retroactive in any case to a date more than seven (7) days before such grievance was first presented in the Grievance Procedure.

It is expressly agreed and understood that the decision of said Arbitrator shall be final and binding upon all parties.

Either party shall have the right to have a Court Reporter or other qualified stenographer prepare a stenographic record of any arbitration proceeding at its own expense.

Section 4. All fees and expenses incurred for the services of the Arbitrator shall be borne equally by the parties. The fees and expenses incurred by each party in the presentation of its case shall be borne solely by the party incurring the fee or expense.

Section 5. If a grievance has not been heard by the selected Arbitrator within one (1) year after the date the grievance was first presented, then it shall be deemed denied and shall not be heard by the Arbitrator; except that if the Employer causes the delay by its actions or lack of availability, the grievance shall be allowed to proceed.

Article No. 10

DISCIPLINE AND DISCHARGE

Section 1. This article does not apply to an employee who is on probation as defined in Article 15 of this Agreement.

Section 2. The Employer may discharge or otherwise discipline an employee for just cause.

Section 3. In all cases of discharge the Employer shall notify the discharged employee in writing of his or her discharge within five (5) calendar days.

Section 4. In the event that the Union desires to protest the discharge of an employee, such protest shall be filed in writing with the Manager, Human Resources or designee within ten (10) calendar days from the date the notice of discharge is issued. The matter shall be taken up in accordance with the procedures for the adjustment of grievances (Article 8), commencing at Step 2. Discharge cases shall take precedence for disposition under said grievance procedure.

Section 5. Discipline in the form of a written reprimand, suspension or discharge shall be given in writing. An employee receiving such discipline may submit the disciplinary action to the grievance procedure beginning at Step 2, or appeal the disciplinary action to the non-union grievance procedure as provided by the Employer Personnel Rules. An employee many not use more than one of these procedures in appealing a disciplinary action. The oral reprimand is not grievable. The written reprimand is grievable, but not subject to arbitration except where it is used in subsequent discipline that goes to arbitration.

Article No. 11

SAFETY

Section 1. The Employer shall take the steps which it believes are reasonable and necessary to provide a safe workplace for employees. Among other things, the Employer shall have the right to train employees, to require use of personal protective clothing, devices and equipment, to install and/or require the use of devices and equipment for safety purposes, to install and/or require the use of apparatus for detecting or monitoring hazards, and to make, keep and use safety records. The Employer shall be responsible for providing any specialized personal protective clothing, devices and equipment it requires the employees to use. The Employer shall provide such vaccinations as are medically required.

Section 2. The Employer shall take the steps which it believes are necessary to reasonably accommodate any disabled employee.

Section 3. The Union shall cooperate fully with the Employer in its efforts to provide a safe workplace for employees and shall advise the Employer immediately of any and all hazards, risks and unsafe conditions in the workplace.

Section 4. The Union shall take, and cooperate with the Employer in taking the steps which the Employer believes necessary to reasonably accommodate any disabled employee.

Section 5. Every employee shall immediately report to the Employer any and all hazards, risks and unsafe conditions in the workplace.

Article No. 12

UNPAID LEAVE OF ABSENCE

Section 1. Unpaid leaves of absence not to exceed ninety (90) calendar days may be granted by the Employer. Any request for such a leave of absence must be in writing to the Employer and shall state the reasons for the request.

Section 2. Any employee on leave of absence must give the Employer notice in writing 7 calendar days before returning to work.

Section 3. Any employee falsifying his reasons for a leave of absence or any employee failing to return at the expiration of the leave of absence shall lose his or her seniority rights and shall be considered as terminated.

Section 4. The Employer may grant leaves of absence of longer duration, including but not limited to when the leave is necessitated by the employee's disability.

Section 5. The Employer will maintain policies and provide leaves of absence for eligible employees as provided in the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 and all other applicable laws.

Article No. 13

EARNED PAID LEAVE

Section 1. Earned paid leave is provided for vacation, sick leave, and personal days. The earned paid leave system shall take effect January 1, 1995. Earned paid leave is acquired according to the following schedule:

YEARS OF SERVICE EARNED PAID LEAVE

1st Year 16 days

2nd through 3rd 21 days

4^th through 5^th 23 days

6th through 7th 26 days

8^th through 10^th 27 days

11th through 15th 31 days

16th 32 days

17th 33 days

18th 34 days

19th 35 days

20th 36 days

Regular full-time and regular part-time employees earn paid leave hours based on their total straight-time hours worked. Earned paid leave hours shall accrue on a payroll period basis based on a maximum 40 hour work week, with each "day" of earned paid leave acquired equal, in hours, to one-fifth of the straight-time hours worked by the employee during the standard work week. During their first year of employment, employees shall not be allowed to use earned paid leave until it has been accrued; thereafter, employees shall be allowed to use their annual earned paid leave at any time during the year, subject to the requirements of this Article, provided that any employee with a negative accrued earned paid leave balance as of his or her termination date shall have an appropriate deduction from his or her final paycheck. Time away from work for workers compensation injuries or long-term disability and leave without pay is not counted toward time worked for earned paid leave purposes.

Section 2. Part-time employees shall accrue earned paid leave according to the schedule in Section 1 above based on their hours worked up to a maximum of 40 per week. For purposes of accrual, one year of service shall consist of a minimum of 1,300 straight time hours worked, but no employee shall accrue more than one year of service in any twelve (12) month period.

Section 3. Earned paid leave will be paid only for hours an employee was regularly scheduled to work, but was taking leave with approval of his supervisor.

Section 4. All employees shall be allowed to carry into the subsequent calendar year, earned paid leave hours up to a maximum of twice their weekly hours, based on the employee's percentage of FTE. Additional earned leave may be carried forward under special circumstances with Employer approval. For purposes of this section, the year begins on January 1st.

Section 5. Employees can, on a voluntary basis, move up to five (5) days of earned paid leave into their personal sick banks annually, to a maximum of 100 days. Employees hired into laboratory positions from current North Central Blood Services positions or from a position at another American Red Cross facility may place accumulated sick leave time, to a maximum of 100 days, into a personal sick leave bank. Personal sick leave bank days can be used for purposes of illness or injury only, and only after the employee has first used one (1) day of earned paid leave or leave without pay in connection with the same continuous absence and subject to short-term and long-term disability plan requirements.

Section 6. In order to apply earned paid leave hours to a particular absence from work, an employee must obtain advance approval of the leave from his or her supervisor, except in the case of illness/injury/emergency. In deciding whether to approve an earned paid leave request, a supervisor shall be entitled to consider the effect the employee's absence will have on staffing. The Laboratory annual leave signup procedure will be followed each fall for planned absences in the next calendar year.

In order to use additional earned paid leave for purposes other than illness/injury/emergency, an employee must make a written or verbal request to and receive approval from his or her supervisor or the supervisor's designee. Employees will be allowed to use 18 hours of earned paid leave on a one-hour basis during the calendar year and 6 hours of earned paid leave on a one-half hour basis during the calendar year (that is, twelve one-half hour blocks). For the purposes of notification due to illness/injury/emergency, the employee must notify the supervisor or the supervisor's designee at least one hour before the work shift. (The employees shall provide as much notice as possible). Such notice may be by telephone.

Successive single earned paid leave days (for example, a continuing illness) must be requested daily, unless an alternate arrangement has been authorized by the supervisor or designee. Failure to give appropriate notice will be considered a violation of policy and will subject an employee to appropriate disciplinary action.

Section 7. If an employee is absent the last scheduled day before or first scheduled day after a holiday, the employee will not be paid for that specific holiday. Employees absent on the scheduled workday preceding or following a paid holiday will receive holiday pay if the absence was beyond the employee's control as demonstrated by verification acceptable to the Employer. The decision shall be solely in the Employer's judgment and discretion and shall not be grievable.

Section 8. When an employee is to be absent from work for reasons other than illness/injury/emergency, the supervisor or designee responsible for staffing shall be able to request that the employee make staffing arrangements.

Section 9. In order to receive and retain pay for earned paid leave benefits, employees must complete appropriate forms indicating the specific dates and shifts or times for which they are claiming earned paid leave. Each such date on the sheet must be approved by the supervisor prior to payment.

Section 10. An employee who terminates employment will receive payment for the earned paid leave benefits to which he or she is entitled, but not for any sick leave bank days.

Section 11. Use of earned paid leave shall be counted as time worked for the purpose of overtime.

Section 12. Earned paid leave for vacation shall be scheduled by department in accordance with the following:

Vacation sign up will occur in the month of November. Vacations will be approved based on the rotating sign up list after considering the scheduling coverage needs of the department. Staff must submit written vacation leave requests by the published sign up date in November. Vacation requests made after this date will be granted on a first come basis, first serve basis. The employer will respond to these requests within a reasonable time after considering scheduling and coverage needs of the department.

Limitations: no more than two weeks may be taken during the summer months.

Employees with 15 years of seniority will be allowed to request up to 3 weeks during the summer months.

Section 13. Funeral Leave. Leave with pay, not exceeding three days, (five days if over 200 miles away), may be granted to regular full-time employees in case of death in the employee’s immediate family. Immediate family is defined as mother, father, spouse, sister, brother, child, mother-in-law, and father-in-law. Up to one day of leave with pay may be granted to attend the funeral of an aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, grandparent, or grandchild. Regular part-time employees may receive one day of funeral leave for members of the immediate family. Funeral leave will not be counted against the employees earned paid leave.

Section 14. Attendance. Employees are expected to report to work regularly and on time in order for the employer to remain successful in meeting the demands of customers.

It is the responsibility of the employee to know their work schedule and to arrive at work on time. Employees are required to be at their workstation at their normal scheduled start time. A five (5) minute grace period will be provided.

If Employees are is going to be late or absent they are expected to notify their immediate supervisor or designated personnel at least one hour prior to their scheduled starting time. An absence or tardiness due to a circumstance determined by the employer to be beyond the employee’s control will not be counted against them.

Absences of three consecutively scheduled workdays without notification to supervisor will be considered job abandonment and will result in immediate termination. An unscheduled absence will be defined as an absence that has not been planned in advance or pre-approved by a supervisor.

Management reserves the right to require a physician’s statement for three (3) or more consecutive absences that are caused by medical reasons in a rolling 12 month period. Occurrences will be defined as a single day or consecutive days related to the same absence.

Tardiness: When an employee has been tardy for three (3) days, counseling for improved performance will be initiated based on a rolling 12-month period as follows:

Number of days tardy: Action:

3 verbal warning

Attendance: When an employee has three or more unscheduled absences

(absence =occurrence), counseling for improved performance will be initiated based on a rolling 12-month period as follows:

Note: An occurrence will be defined as a single day or consecutive days related to the same absence.

Number of Unscheduled Occurrences: Action:

3 verbal warning

5 written warning

6 probation/termination

Exceptions: Employees with other needs requiring a personal leave or a need related to a medical condition (e.g. Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Provision, Workers Compensation) should refer to the North Central Blood Services Human Resource Personnel Manual or contact Human Resources staff for direction and guidance.

Article No. 14

JURY AND MILITARY DUTY

Section 1. Jury Duty. When an employee eligible for jury service is called and reports for such service, he or she will be reimbursed by the Employer for the difference between the amount paid by the government for such service and the time lost from the job, up to a maximum of an employee's regularly scheduled shift at his straight time hourly rate and for no more than fifteen (15) working days per calendar year. Premium pay, but not overtime pay, will be considered in arriving at the above referred to difference. Hours served on jury duty will not be counted in computing overtime hours. In order for the employee to receive a paycheck for this difference in pay, the employee must submit his or her jury duty pay stub or check copy to the payroll department. Upon receipt of the jury duty pay stub or check copy, the payroll department will issue a payroll check for the difference in pay as described above. The employee will keep any payment for travel and parking expenses. When excused from jury duty for the day, the employee shall return to work.

Section 2. Military Reserve or National Guard Duty. Full-time employees shall have salary protection for duty with the United States Active Reserve or the National Guard for summer encampment or temporary emergency service for up to thirty (30) calendar days per year. If the employee's military pay is less than his regular pay, he shall receive the difference between his regular pay and the military pay for up to 30 calendar days per year. Military expense and travel allowances are not considered as part of military pay received. Nothing in this section is to be construed as violating local, state or federal laws.

Article No. 15

PROBATIONARY PERIOD

Section 1. An Employee’s first six (6) months worked in the bargaining unit will be the only probation period served under this agreement.

Section 2. An employee may be discharged during the probationary period for any reason whatsoever with or without cause and without recourse. The grievance and arbitration procedure (Articles 8 and 9) shall not apply to any probationary employee and the discharge of any probationary employee is not grievable or arbitrable.

Section 3. Upon satisfactory completion of the probationary period an employee shall be considered a regular non-probationary employee and his or her seniority shall date from the beginning of that probationary period.

Section 4. If an employee is re-hired by the Employer after cessation of a prior period or periods of employment with the Employer, he or she shall be required to complete successfully a new probationary period and his or her seniority shall date from the beginning of that new probationary period (except as provided in Article 16, Section 3(a)). This Section shall not apply in the case of return from an approved leave of absence or recall from layoff, provided that the employee's employment with the Employer had not terminated prior to the return or recall.

Article No. 16

SENIORITY

Section 1. Seniority shall mean the length of continuous service as a regular employee of the Employer and or continuous service with another Red Cross Employer immediately preceding appointment to a position in the Bargaining Unit. The seniority of each employee shall be computed from the date of most recent hire. An employee hired into a position in the Bargaining Unit from another position with the Employer or another Red Cross Employer, may transfer up to two years of previously earned seniority.

Section 2. An employee who has not successfully completed the probationary period described in Article 15 shall have no seniority rights.

Section 3. An employee shall have his or her seniority rights and her or his employment terminated if the employee:

Section 4. The Employer shall provide the Union with an updated seniority list on an annual basis.

Section 5. An employee on leave of absence or layoff must notify the Employer with any change of his or her address or phone number during such period.

Article No. 17

Section 1. When it becomes necessary to reduce the number of employees in a job classification, seniority by job classification within the laboratory among persons qualified to do the job will determine which employees will be displaced. To be regarded as qualified to do the job, the employee must be able to perform the work satisfactorily either within ten (10) working days or within other training time and competency directives prescribed by Red Cross guidelines.

Employees displaced through this process will not have the right to bump another employee.

Employees who may be affected by a reduction will be given written notice ten (10) week days prior to the date of the reduction.

Employees who are laid off will be recalled based on inverse order of layoff, provided that the recalled employee must be able to perform the available work satisfactorily either within ten (10) working days of recall or within other training time and competency directives prescribed by Red Cross guidelines.

Section 2. Each unit employee laid off pursuant to this Article, and not offered a comparable position by the Employer within thirty (30) days of layoff, shall be eligible to receive up to two (2) weeks' pay in lieu of notice and one (1) week's pay for each year of completed service to a maximum combined payment of thirteen (13) weeks. For purposes of this section, a "comparable position" shall be based upon consideration of the job duties, salary and hours of work. Nothing in this section shall prevent the Employer from offering additional severance benefits in connection with any particular termination program. An employee electing the severance payment benefits provided by this section shall have immediately terminated employment and shall have no employment rights, no seniority rights and no recall rights.

Article No. 18

WORK RULES

The Employer shall have the right to adopt, implement, delete, enforce, and change work rules, except as limited by this Agreement. The Employer shall provide 14 calendar days notice before making a work rule change, and all work rule changes shall be reasonable and justified by business reasons.

Article No. 19

SHIFT AND WORK ASSIGNMENT

Section 1. The Employer shall have the right to establish and change the days and hours of each shift and the number of employees by classification and department assigned to each shift. The Employer shall give 14 calendar days notice before making changes.

Section 2. If the Employer changes a shift's staffing or changes the hours or days of an existing shift or creates a new shift, employees may exercise their seniority by classification and department to select the new shift assignment. Employees shall have five (5) working days to notify the Employer in writing of their preference for the new shift. If there are no bids for a shift, the Employer may hire from the street or assign by inverse seniority. Notwithstanding the forgoing, the employer reserves the right to delay the effective date of shift changes or assign employees to a particular shift without regard to seniority for a period of ninety days for operational reasons.

Section 3. Except in emergencies or by agreement, a minimum of seven (7) hours shall separate an employee's regularly scheduled shifts. The Employer shall not be allowed to establish or change the shift assignment for an employee as a disciplinary or punitive measure.

Article No. 20

Section 1. The standard work day shall be eight (8) consecutive hours, exclusive of the lunch period, and the standard work week shall be forty (40) hours per week; except that employees who currently maintain full time status with a standard work week of thirty-seven and one half (37.5) hours, shall have the right to continue this option. This right remains in effect until an employee moves to a 40 hour week.

Section 2. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as a guarantee of hours of work per day or per week, or of days of work per week, for any employee.

Section 3. Each employee shall be entitled to two fifteen minute paid work breaks on the premises and one thirty minute unpaid lunch break during each seven and one-half/eight hour work day. Part-time employees shall be granted a pro rata portion of these breaks for shifts of less than seven and one-half/eight hours. Employees shall be entitled to a third ten minute paid work break after working more than ten consecutive hours in a shift.

Employees shall schedule breaks within established guidelines by consensus while considering the activity, production and work flow needs of their Department. When necessary the supervisor(s) will be responsible for assessing the staffing needs of the shift and make recommendations regarding appropriate time for both work breaks and lunch breaks.

When possible, the first fifteen minute work break will be taken near the middle of the first four hours of a shift and the second near the middle of the second four hours of a shift. When activity, production demands or work flow requirements do not permit such scheduling of breaks, employees may combine their fifteen minute breaks on the premises with approval of their supervisor. If an employee's supervisor is not present during the shift, the employee is permitted to manage his/her break within these established guidelines. It is expected that all employees will be provided opportunity for and take their thirty minute lunch break between the beginning of their third hour on a shift and the beginning of the fifth hour on a shift.

Section 4. Employees may, by mutual agreement with their supervisor, arrange an alternate work schedule in order to be available for Employer scheduled training or meetings.

Section 5. The Employer has the right to require each employee to work beyond the employee's scheduled hours. The employee shall receive time and one-half of his or her regular rate for all hours in excess of forty (40) hours actually worked in a week.

Section 6. In assigning additional hours, the employee actually performing the job in question shall first be asked if he or she is interested in the assignment. If the employee performing the job in question declines the additional hours, qualified employees shall be offered the additional hours in order of seniority, beginning with the most senior employee. If no qualified employee voluntarily accepts the additional hours assignment, the Employer shall assign the additional hours to the qualified employee with the least seniority.

Section 7. When an employee's hours worked and scheduled hours for a week would exceed the employee's FTE hours, the employee may, with his/her supervisor/manager's approval, adjust the starting or ending time of a scheduled shift.

Article 21

Section 1. A vacancy shall be defined as any unoccupied position within the Bargaining Unit which the Employer intends to fill.

Section 2. All vacant positions shall be posted for five working days. The posting shall include classification, minimum qualifications, work schedule and available FTE.

Section 3. The Employer shall consider all qualified employees who apply during the five working day posting. If all other job relevant qualifications are equal, the applicant with the greatest Bargaining Unit seniority shall be appointed to the position. Whenever possible vacant or newly created positions shall be filled by transfer or promotion from among present employees.

Section 4. Employees may express an interest in another position for which they are qualified by submitting a written request to the Manager, Laboratory. These requests will be maintained in a file by the Manager, Laboratory. These employees, should they be on leave, will be notified of the opening by certified mail.

Article No. 22

INSURANCE AND OTHER NON RETIREMENT BENEFITS

Section 1. The Union employees will be offered the same benefit package subject to the same conditions (except as provided by Section 2 of this Article), as other NCBS hourly employees. Notice of changes will be provided to the Union and Bargaining Unit employees no later than it is given to all NCBS hourly employees. This Article specifically applies to life insurance, AD&D and disability insurance, employee assistance program, educational reimbursement, dental insurance, pretax medical and dependent care account and health insurance, and shall be applicable to any 401(k) plan that may be adopted by the Employer during the term of this Agreement.

Section 2. The Employer specifically agrees to advise the Union of any changes or proposed changes to health coverage by October 1st of each year or as soon thereafter as changes or proposed changes are known. The Employer further agrees to meet and discuss proposed changes with the Union, if the Union requests. Without respect to whether any such discussions result in agreement, the health coverage provided to Bargaining Unit members will be the same and subject to the same changes as that provided to other NCBS hourly employees; except that the Employer will offer at least one option for family coverage with an employee premium contribution of no more than twenty-three percent (23%) .

Article No. 23

RETIREMENT BENEFITS

The bargaining unit employees will continue to participate in the American Red Cross National Retirement System, as amended from time to time at the sole discretion of the Employer. The parties agree that any changes or amendments to the plan automatically apply to the bargaining unit employees to the same extent that such changes or amendments apply to the non-bargaining unit employees. The Employer, the Union and the employees are bound by the terms of the plan.

Lead $1.15/hour

Shift Differential

Section 6. Medical Technologists shall not be eligible for trainer premiums. The "weekend premium" shall be paid for noncall weekend hours worked. For purposes of determining "shift differential," all hours worked on any regularly scheduled shift beginning between 6:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. shall be regarded as "First Shift." "Second Shift" shall consist of all hours worked on any regularly scheduled shift starting between 3:30 P.M .to 2:30 A.M . and "Third Shift" shall consist of all hours worked on any regularly scheduled shift starting between 12:00 A.M. to 8:30 A.M. For employees working a regularly scheduled ten hour shift, the employee will be eligible to receive the second or third shift differential for all hours worked on that shift, if a minimum of eight of those hours were worked after the established start time for second or third shift respectively. Ten hour shifts will be established by the employer as outlined in Article No. 05 and Article No. 19.

Article No. 25

HOLIDAYS

Section 1. Paid Holidays. Regular full-time employees who meet the eligibility requirements set forth in this Article shall be entitled to the following holidays and shall receive seven and one-half/eight hours pay for such day. Regular part-time employees who meet eligibility requirements shall be eligible for the following holidays and receive holiday pay on a pro rata basis to their full-time equivalency.

Should a holiday fall on a Saturday, the preceding Friday shall be observed. Should a holiday fall on a Sunday, the following Monday shall be observed.

Section 2. Holiday Eligibility. Regular full-time and regular part-time employees shall be eligible for holiday pay providing the employee works his last scheduled day before and his first scheduled day following the holiday keeping in accordance with Article 13, Section 7. The employee must work on the holiday if scheduled in order to receive holiday pay.

When a holiday falls within an eligible employee's scheduled earned paid leave, the employee will receive holiday pay in place of one earned paid leave day.

Section 3. Holiday Pay. The rate of pay for holidays shall be that rate earned on the last scheduled day prior to the holiday. Holiday pay shall count toward the computation of overtime during the week it occurs.

Section 4. Holiday Work. Employees required to work on the actual or observed holiday will be paid at 1-1/2 times their normal hourly rate for hours actually worked on the holiday plus holiday pay in proportion to their normal full-time equivalency status. When an employee works on a holiday and is paid at the overtime rate, these hours are not added to regular hours worked that week for the purpose of overtime calculation. Holiday hours will be considered as time worked and become a part of the regular hours worked that week. The holiday begins at 12 a.m. and ends at 11:59 p.m. for purposes of overtime calculation.

Employees working both the actual and the observed holidays will be paid at 1-1/2 times their normal hourly rate for the hours worked on one holiday and their normal hourly rate for the hours worked on the other holiday. An employee will receive holiday pay for only one day when working both the actual and observed holidays.

Employees working on a holiday may request an alternative day off with pay in lieu of holiday pay with their supervisor's approval.

Time off for religious holidays may be arranged and charged as earned paid leave or leave without pay with the supervisor's approval.

Article No. 26

DURATION

Section 1. This Agreement shall be in full force and effect from date of ratification by both parties through October 31, 2008, and shall continue in full force and effect from year to year thereafter, unless written notice of desire to cancel or terminate the Agreement is served by either party upon the other at least sixty (60) days prior to the date of expiration.

Section 2. It is further agreed by the parties hereto that upon receiving proper cancellation notice or amendment notice to this Agreement, the parties agree to start negotiations at least forty-five (45) days before the expiration or amendment date of this Agreement.

Article No. 27

SEPARABILITY

If any Article, Section, sentence or clause of this Agreement is held invalid for any reason by any tribunal of competent jurisdiction, or if compliance with or enforcement of any Article, Section, sentence or clause is restrained by such tribunal pending a final determination as to its validity, the remainder of this Agreement or application of such Article, Section, sentence or clause to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it has been held invalid or as to which compliance with or enforcement of has been restrained, shall not be affected. It is the intention of the parties in adopting this Agreement that no provisions of it shall become inoperative or fail because of the invalidity of any other provisions. If any Article, Section, sentence or clause is invalid or enforcement of or compliance therewith has been restrained, as above set forth, the parties shall enter into immediate collective bargaining negotiations, upon request of the Union or the Employer, for the purpose of arriving at a mutually satisfactory replacement.

IN WITNESS OF THIS AGREEMENT, the parties have signed this document on

the ____ day of _________, 2006.

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, NORTH CENTRAL BLOOD SERVICES

COUNTY & MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, OF THE AMERICAN RED CROSS

AFL-CIO, MINNESOTA COUNCIL 5,

LOCAL UNION 3931

_______ ____________________________

Tom Zweber Randy Schuller

_______ ____________________

Nola Lynch Barbara Partanen

Business Representative Manager, Laboratory

APPENDIX A,

Effective November 1, 2005 the pay step schedule will be increased across the board to the minimums and maximums by three (3%) percent.

Start 6 mos 3 yrs. 6 yrs. 10yrs.

Technical Assistant $13.45 $13.78 $14.84 $15.66 $17.39

Laboratory Technician $14.79 $15.14 $16.26 $17.37 $20.05

Education Lead Technician $14.79 $15.14 $16.26 $17.37 $20.05

Laboratory Technologist $19.65 $20.81 $21.73 $23.71 $27.36

Biomedical Equipment Tech. $15.66 $15.93 $16.82 $18.54 $21.73

APPENDIX B

Effective November 1, 2006 the pay step schedule will be increased across the board to the minimums and maximums by two and three quarters (2.75%) percent.

Start 6 mos. 3 yrs. 6 yrs. 10 yrs.

Technical Assistant $13.82 14.16 15.25 16.09 17.87

Laboratory Technician $15.20 $15.57 $16.71 $17.85 $20.60

Education Lead Technician $15.20 $15.57 $16.71 $17.85 $20.60

Laboratory Technologist $20.19 $21.38 $22.33 $24.36 $28.11

Biomedical Equipment Tech. $16.09 $16.37 $17.28 $19.05 $22.34

APPENDIX C

Effective November 1, 2007 the pay step schedule will be increased across the board to the minimums and maximums by two and one half (2.50%) percent.

Start 6 mos. 3 yrs. 6 yrs. 10 yrs.

Technical Assistant $14.17 14.51 15.63 16.49 18.32

Laboratory Technician $15.58 $15.96 $17.13 $18.30 $21.13

Education Lead Technician $15.58 $15.96 $17.13 $18.30 $21.13

Laboratory Technologist $20.70 $21.92 $22.89 $24.97 $28.81

Biomedical Equipment Tech. $16.49 $16.78 $17.71 $19.53 $22.90

[TO BE TYPED ON RED CROSS LETTERHEAD]

February __, 2006

Ms. Nola Lynch

Staff Representative

AFSCME MN Co 5

399 Hardman Ave. S., Suite 2

South St. Paul, MN 55075

Dear Ms. Lynch:

This confirms our agreement and understanding reached during the most recent collective bargaining negotiations that the Employer’s policy on Driving of Company Vehicles does not apply to any employees in the bargaining unit represented by your union

Sincerely,

Kathleen A. Nicolini

[TO BE TYPED ON RED CROSS LETTERHEAD]

February __, 2006

Ms. Nola Lynch

Staff Representative

AFSCME MN Co 5

399 Hardman Ave. S., Suite 2

South St. Paul, MN 55075

Dear Ms. Lynch:

This confirms our understanding that the Union and the Employer recognize the following language from the employers 2005 Annual Leave Sign-Up Policy.  Therefore, we agree that:

No more than five (5) single days may be scheduled by an individual on initial sign up.  Staff are not allowed to sign up for single days between Memorial Day and Labor Day during the initial sign up.  A request may be stated for single days during this period and a “wait list” will be prepared to fill in open days. After everyone on the list has had an opportunity to schedule their vacation, staff may sign up for single days on a first come, first serve basis.

Sincerely,

Kathleen A. Nicolini

20251267.6