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American Red Cross

Is this your company?

The lowest pay and the worst supervisors, but you're saving lives! - Lab Technician American Red Cross Employee Review

2.0
7 Feb 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The health insurance was the best and cheapest I ever had! I loved knowing what I was doing was really saving lives. I worked with some of the nicest kindest people.

Cons

The supervisors in the lab were horrible! You were not allowed to sit even though you were standing at a machine for hours at a time. They also didn't allow MP3 players, even though it wasn't a sterile environment or it would create an unsafe environment. Correction: unless you were the weekend day shift, then you could do whatever you wanted. I once saw a supervisor make a 7 month pregnant third shift worker stand up, who had been sitting since she had been standing for hours and walk past the weekend shift worker (who had been there a short time) who was sitting with her feet propped up on the counter listening to a MP3 player. If you did your job well and worked night shift, you could never be promoted or get another job in the company since you were too valuable to them and they couldn't staff 3rd shift. The pay was ridiculously low! No raises in 2.5 years! No wonder so many people left for Dendreon!

Explore other reviews about American Red Cross

5.0
16 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

My experience working with the Red Cross has been great. The work is fulfilling and the people are passionate. Benefits are good - Kaiser is $6 a month!

Cons

There is work life balance, but there is an expectation to work nights and weekends.

2.0
15 Mar 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

You feel connected to a larger mission, and go to bed knowing you did good work. Most of the volunteers are amazing people. The job is a good stepping stone to other disaster management jobs elsewhere. PTO policy is generous and Healthcare is decent.

Cons

You are INCREDIBLY overworked and GROSSLY underpaid. You get zero work-life balance. Even when you're not on call, you'll still get tons of calls from volunteers with questions and concerns. If a volunteer is unavailable to respond to a fire call or tend to any other responsibility day or night, you're on deck. You're salaried, so there's no overtime pay. Your pay barely covers the basic cost of living in today's economy ($40k-$50k). Diversity is bottom heavy, meaning there are lots of employees of color in entry level or lower management roles, but beyond that there's a steep drop off. Most of the volunteers are great, but the Red Cross is so desperate to keep them, that poor behavior and language (racist/sexist/phobic) is not properly disciplined or responded to, if at all. Employee retention is poor, especially in the Disaster Specialist role, because they burn you out so quickly without decent pay.

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