The labor movement is torn over vaccine requirements — much like the country as a whole — wanting to both support its political ally in Biden and protect its members against infection but also not wanting to trample their workers' rights.
The labor movement is torn over vaccine requirements — much like the country as a whole — wanting to both support its political ally in Biden and protect its members against infection but also not wanting to trample their workers' rights.
In a sign of the importance of the issue to the Biden administration, the White House reached out to union presidents before Biden announced his new policy Thursday and will continue to check in with labor leaders, said an administration official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss forthcoming plans.
Still, many labor leaders are hesitant to wade into the mandate issue. Many of the employers of the workers of the Laborer's District Council of Western Pennsylvania, like hospitals, have begun requiring vaccinations. Whenever members complain, the council's business manager, Phillip Ameris, tells them it's not the union's call.
Simon Haeder, a political scientist who studies vaccine mandates at Penn State University, said it makes sense that the strongest resistance has come from police and firefighters. “The more conservative side of the labor movement, in terms of politics, are going to be the police and firefighter unions,” he said, noting that response to the coronavirus has become highly polarized.
Campos-Medina said mandatory vaccination is such an obviously important public health policy that she expects unions to ultimately accept it. She compared it to bans on indoor smoking, which rankled some unions years ago but is a subject which hardly ever comes up at the bargaining table today. “We will get there,” she said.
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