President Biden
Joe BidenPoll: Voters were divided over whether they believe Biden was trying to add political points with the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Kansas approves using M in federal funds to increase nurses ’pay to infinity and beyond: What will it take to create a diverse and representative judiciary? MONTHStrong ties with unions could be put to the test by welcoming their administration’s vaccination mandates.
Biden on Thursday presented a much heavier approach to combating COVID-19 compared to what the administration has favored in the past.
In a speech, he scolded people who were hesitant and resistant to the vaccine for a growing number of infections and hospitalizations, and proceeded to announce a series of vaccine warrants for health care workers, employees and federal contractors, and even private companies.
Failure to do so could result in heavy fines.
Unions are divided by the approach, as they seek to balance the need for safety in the workplace and address anti-vaccine sentiment among some of its members.
Many unions have gone well, encouraging members to get vaccinated without approving mandates.
But as private sector mandates have grown in popularity, unions have increasingly stressed the need to collectively negotiate any possible measures before they come into force.
The response to federal mandates was no different.
“Our union has said we should work with our employers, not oppose, their vaccine requirements and make sure people have a voice in their implementation to make sure they are implemented fairly and exemptions and accommodations they need happens, happens, ”said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).
In its most recent resolution on school vaccinations, the AFT encouraged all educators to be vaccinated, but did not call for a strict mandate at the national level.
Instead, the group said that “as employers establish these vaccination policies, employees must have a voice in addressing the impact on workers through bargaining or other forms of consultation.”
Teachers, like other unions, are reluctant to tie the hands of local chapters and there are some areas of the country where vaccination mandates are not an option.
And while national organizations may favor mandates, some local unions, such as united teachers in New York State, said they were opposed to the idea.
State and local public sector unions, such as law enforcement, have largely opposed vaccination warrants, although the International Association of Firefighters has adopted the policy and called for mandatory vaccination. after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has obtained full approval.
Demands from public sector unions may curb Biden’s federal vaccination campaign, and its resistance indicates that similar efforts by states and municipalities to close the gaps could also be hampered.
Biden’s announcement sparked a quick reaction from Republicans, with a handful of Republican Party governors accusing him of federal scope and promising to fight him in court.
But broadly speaking, the administration has union support.
The new president of the AFL-CIO, Liz Shuler, praised Biden’s plan, adding that “workers and unions should have a voice in shaping these policies.”
“COVID-19 workplace safety plans should also include mitigation measures such as ventilation, removal of infected people, masking and training of workers. They are needed to prevent exposures and, in combination with vaccines, will get us out of this pandemic, ”he said.
Initially, the administration was hesitant to impose vaccine mandates, preferring to lead by example and let the private sector implement its mandates on its own. But as the delta variant consolidated and vaccinations continued to lag behind, Biden changed course.
“We have been patient, but our patience is running out. And your refusal has cost us all, “Biden said Thursday in comments to unvaccinated people.
Senior administration officials have said the new rules could affect two-thirds of the U.S. workforce, though some public health experts believe there should be more.
The announcement of the mandate comes a week after Biden intensified his commitment to unions and sought more support from the workers ’community.
He reiterated his campaign promise to be “the most union president” at an event held Wednesday at the White House and on Monday visited workers at Local 313 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) in Wilmington, Del.
Aaron Sojourner, a labor economist and associate professor at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, said he doesn’t believe there is a high risk of a labor reaction.
“I think that [President Biden’s] the relationship with the labor leaders of the labor movement and the popularity among the members makes them more open to their leadership and more willing to support the position they stand for, ”Sojourner said.
“But I think part of the reason he’s able to do it and he’s willing to do it is because he knows this is really something that will benefit working families in general, and the economy … workers “They want to be healthy and safe. They want their families to be healthy and safe and they don’t want to catch COVID,” he added.
As part of Biden’s new push to force the issue of vaccinations, federal employees and contractors will have 75 days to be fully vaccinated with limited exemptions for religious or medical reasons. There will be no test option.
The American Federation of Government Employees and AFL-CIO, the largest federal union, said they hope to negotiate this change before its implementation.
“Since President Biden made his first big announcement about changing COVID-19 protocols for the federal workforce in response to the growing Delta variant, we’ve said that changes like this should be negotiated with our bargaining units, if any. In short, workers deserve a voice in their working conditions, “AFGE national president Everett Kelley said in a statement.