The American Red Cross, meanwhile, has filed a request for review to the National Labor Relations Board, which may not necessarily block Friday's vote, but could put off a count of the ballots, said Joe Artiles, resident officer in Nashville of the NLRB.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 429 filed a petition on July 13 to represent workers of the Tennessee Valley Blood Services Region of the American Red Cross in the collective bargaining process.
The Nashville chapter of the American Red Cross doesn't employ the workers involved in the vote, but they do share the same building with the local chapter at 2201 Charlotte Ave.
"The American Red Cross respects our employees' right to choose whether to join or not to join a labor union," according to a statement from Tennessee Valley Blood Services Region.
Mike Bearden, president of Local 429, did not return calls seeking comment.
The workers are mostly phlebotomists, people who insert needles to collect blood. However, about 27 workers will be voting "under challenge," meaning it is still to be determined whether they fit the category of being involved in the collection of blood, Artiles said. Drivers, for instance, will be voting under challenge, he said.
While electrical workers and blood collectors may seem like an odd match, any union can organize any group of employees, Artiles said.
Voting locationsThe vote will take place at Red Cross facilities in Nashville, Crossville, Tenn., and Paducah, Ky., from 5:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday.
In the past year, eight petitions to organize workers in Middle Tennessee and western Kentucky have been filed with the NLRB, Artiles said. Unions in other parts of the country have organized phlebotomists who work for the American Red Cross, including in Connecticut.
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