73 pints after 636 blood drive
The American Red Cross tapped into a blood drive sponsored by Pipe Fitters, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Service Local 636 and yielded 73 pints of blood.

The annual drive, held from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Local 636 Training Center in Troy, yielded the greatest amount of blood yet by the local. At the same time, donors were given the option of having their blood tested for prostate cancer, plus a free flue shot.

"We had 88 people turn out, but some couldn't donate," said Local 636 Business Manager Jim Lapham. "But this really worked out well. In the past, those PSA have detected cancer in a few people, and it may have saved some lives." The tests were paid for by the local's insurance fund.

Bracelet drawing benefits food bank
Building trades workers who want to make a good impression on their wife or girlfriend this Christmas might want to consider taking a chance on this offer.

Daniel LaLonde, an Operating Engineers Local 324 member who is also a gemologist, is donating a 14-karat ladies diamond tennis bracelet for a drawing among Detroit-area building trades workers.

"A lot of guys who I see on the job trust me and buy jewelry from me, and business has been very good this year," LaLonde said. "So I wanted to give something back to the community. I thought making this bracelet available in a drawing would be a good way to raise money for a good cause." The cause is St. Rita's Food Bank in Detroit, which provides after-school meals to disadvantaged young people in Detroit.

Tickets are $10 apiece and will be made available at various union halls and during union meetings. The bracelet is valued at about $6,500.

LaLonde has been an operator since 1993 and in the jewelry business for the last five years.

"Union members have been a very important part of my business, and this is my way of thanking them, too," he said.

Union-made cards available
Need union-made holiday cards?

No problem, they're out there. In retail stores look for the brand "Plus Mark" cards. They're made by UNITE Local 2408.

Holiday greeting cards made by the Allied Printing Trades Council are available at Brown & Bigelow in Maryland, which can be contacted at (800) 447-5576, and Homestead Cards, which can be viewed a

www.aol.com/unioncards. Remember for all your holiday shopping: Think union.