Local 459 Service Representative Cindy Jeffries has taken a job as federal mediator in upstate New York.

Cindy hired into Local 459 in January of 1998 and quickly showed her leadership ability and knack for negotiating and was given a promotion to mid level representative in 2000.  She was promoted again in 2004 to the position of Senior Service Representative.

Prior to working for Local 459, Cindy worked as a pharmacy tech at Ingham Regional Medical Center (IRMC).   She served as a steward for her co workers and, when the Chief Steward went on a leave, she was asked to serve as temporary Chief Steward.  Cindy did such a good job, that the other stewards approached the Local about making her the permanent Chief Steward. Cindy also served on the Local 459 Executive Board; a role she held until she became a Service Representative. 

As a Service Representative, Cindy worked with almost every Local 459 bargaining unit.  She advocated for hundreds of grievants and helped negotiate many contracts.   Cindy spent much of her time working with the Local 459 members at IRMC and became a vital part of that organization.

In 2007 Jeffries was elected to the OPEIU International’s Executive Board.  In that position she helped set policy for the entire OPEIU membership.

Cindy’s new job with the federal government is a highly coveted position. She will be working as a neutral party with labor and management representatives in New York and Vermont to help them resolve their conflicts.  There are a limited number of federal mediators in the country and the job comes with the title of “Commissioner”.  Her new office is based in AlbanyNew York.  Cindy is married to Dave Jeffries who hopes to join her soon.  She has one daughter, Leslie, and a granddaughter, Peyton who live in Florida.

Her departure from Local 459 creates a huge hole that the Local 459 staff and Executive Board will be struggling to fill.  Good luck Commissioner Jeffries.

BAD BLOOD AT THE RED CROSS:

Bad blood is more than a metaphor at the American Red Cross.  Hundreds demonstrated outside national Red Cross headquarters under the blistering afternoon sun Monday June 21st to

 expose the aid agency's poor treatment of both its workers and the nation's blood supply. The Red Cross has been “reprimanded numerous times for their unacceptable policies," one demonstrator told Union City, "yet this organization continues to turn a blind eye to their mistreatment of their workers and the mismanagement of their blood supply." The picketers - delegates to this week's OPEIU convention in DC - carried signs reading “Tell the American Red Cross: Qualified Staff Means A Safe Blood Supply!” to protest their “extreme dissatisfaction” with the aid agency.  The Red Cross “refuses to adhere to staffing requirements and workers’ rights,” said another demonstrator, adding that the agency has been under Congressional decree for over 15 years “with no sign of improvement.” Frank Hornick - a business representative for SEIU - said, “These issues lead to the dangerous distribution of untested - or ‘bad’ - blood, which many times has not even been tested for diseases such as syphilis.”  The leadership of the Red Cross needs to “either change now or leave,” said OPEIU Local 459 Business Representative Joe Marutiak, noting  that the Red Cross has been fined over 16 million dollars in the last week alone for mismanagement of distributed blood.

– report by Boaz Young-El, AFL-CIO Union Summer Intern; photo Hugo Danny Lopez, Local 2 OPEIU