{"id":27480,"date":"2021-11-09T04:02:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-09T04:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=27480"},"modified":"2021-11-10T10:45:47","modified_gmt":"2021-11-10T10:45:47","slug":"why-so-many-unions-oppose-vaccine-mandates-even-when-they-actually-support-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/why-so-many-unions-oppose-vaccine-mandates-even-when-they-actually-support-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Why so many unions oppose vaccine mandates \u2013 even when they actually support them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jeffrey Hirsch<\/a>, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, labor unions have been among the strongest advocates for workplace safety measures<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it came as a surprise to many<\/a> that some unions have resisted the imposition of vaccine mandates, ranging in sentiment from cautious<\/a> to outright hostile<\/a>. Their reactions can seem confusing because we tend to associate unions with Democrats, who, polls show, overwhelmingly support vaccine mandates<\/a>. In fact, some unions, including those that represent police officers, are more supportive of Republicans<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an expert in labor law<\/a>, however, I wasn\u2019t at all surprised by these differences. Understanding a little about the purpose of unions and how they operate shows why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unions have to represent their members<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Police unions have been most vocally opposed to vaccine mandates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019ve filed lawsuits<\/a>, vowed to ignore the mandate<\/a> and threatened to quit<\/a>, even though COVID-19 has been the leading cause of death<\/a> for police officers in 2020 and 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although it\u2019s unclear exactly how many police officers and their unions are opposing mandates, their vaccination numbers are well below the national rate for adults<\/a>, and there have been very hostile objections to mandates in cities across the country<\/a>. For example, the Chicago police union president urged officers to defy a vaccine mandate that he compared to a Nazi gas chamber<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important to understand that unions are representative organizations that rely on the support of their members, much like politicians. A union only gains a foothold at a workplace if a majority of employees want it; if the union loses that majority support, it can be kicked out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, union leaders obtain and keep their positions through periodic elections. As a result, unions are especially sensitive to the positions of their members. And that\u2019s not only to maintain support, it\u2019s also unions\u2019 main job: representing employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So if a union represents workers who oppose vaccine mandates, it shouldn\u2019t come as a surprise that union leaders, who are usually former rank-and-file employees<\/a>, echo the same view. This is why we see so many unions that represent law enforcement officers and firefighters, who tend to be politically conservative<\/a>, oppose vaccine mandates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"New
Firefighter groups, like the FDNY Fire Officers Association, have been among the unions most vocally opposed to mandates. AP Photo\/Mary Altaffer<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Protecting the right to bargain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yet even unions that traditionally support the Democratic Party aren\u2019t always gung-ho about mandates, especially those that are implemented without their input.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some large unions, like the AFL-CIO<\/a> and National Education Association<\/a>, quickly backed vaccine mandates, others have taken a more nuanced stance. As Terri Gerstein from the Harvard Labor and Worklife Program emphasized<\/a>, it\u2019s important to pay attention to exactly what these unions are doing and saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many unions initially expressed caution or opposition to vaccine mandates, but that reluctance has frequently softened over time. Thus, we see some unions that have always encouraged its members to vaccinate, like the American Federation of Teachers<\/a>, first oppose employer-led mandates before reversing course, all the while emphasizing the need for more discussion between workers and management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The American Federation of Government Employees is encouraging its members to be vaccinated but has emphasized that any requirements<\/a> first be \u201cproperly negotiated with our bargaining units.\u201d The Service Employees International Union also pushed for members to get the vaccine, while arguing that employers may be legally required to bargain with unions before implementing mandates<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although these stances may seem odd, they\u2019re exactly what you should expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a policy that affects workers is first proposed, unions may need some time to gauge their members\u2019 thoughts. Hence the initial hesitation. After that, however, unions focus on protecting one of their members\u2019 vital labor rights: the right to bargain<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A major reason employees want a union in the first place is get a seat at the table with their employer to hash out work conditions. Employers usually can\u2019t change work conditions on their own because they have a duty<\/a> to try to work out an agreement with the union. Therefore, when the possibility of a vaccine mandate arises, a union \u2013 even one that supports the mandate \u2013 will be very careful to make sure the employer bargains before implementing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although some state courts<\/a> and agencies<\/a> have recently determined that state and local government employers aren\u2019t required to negotiate with unions over vaccine mandates because it\u2019s an urgent health emergency, it\u2019s still an open question in the private sector<\/a>. As a result, a union\u2019s failure to at least push for the right to bargain over a mandate would be giving up one of its most powerful rights without a fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ironing out the details<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But even when its members generally support a mandate and an employer is allowed to impose one, a union may still have an incentive to avoid publicly supporting the mandate. That\u2019s because it will still want to reserve the right to bargain over the mandate\u2019s implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The duty to bargain includes not only the adoption of a rule but also negotiations over how the rule is implemented<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, Tyson Foods and its unions agreed<\/a> to a mandate that included incentives for vaccinations, such as paid leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the U.S. Postal Service and its unions are negotiating how to address<\/a> the new rule<\/a> that obligates employers with 100 or more employees to either require workers be vaccinated or take regular COVID-19 tests. Terms include deadlines for compliance, whether the Postal Service will provide on-site testing or vaccinations, and how employees who don\u2019t comply will be disciplined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Questions over whether disciplinary action can be challenged recently led an Illinois court to temporarily prevent Chicago<\/a> from enforcing its vaccination requirement for police officers. The delay was needed, according to the court, to allow unvaccinated officers time to challenge suspensions through the arbitration process that was part of their union\u2019s contract with the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot is at stake in these post-mandate negotiations, as Kyrie Irving of the NBA\u2019s Brooklyn Nets can attest<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Over 115,000 readers rely on The Conversation\u2019s newsletter to understand the world.<\/em> Sign up today<\/a>.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Irving\u2019s unvaccinated status means that he\u2019s unable to play in his team\u2019s arena because of New York City\u2019s vaccine rules. The NBA has said that players who can\u2019t play because of a vaccine mandate will be fined. That\u2019s a position that the players union initially opposed but, after discussions with the league<\/a>, ultimately agreed was allowable under the contract. The result is that Irving is set to lose over US$15 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most employees, of course, have nowhere near as much money at stake. However, their interest in having their union involved with decisions over how a vaccine mandate will be implemented is just as great. And this helps explain why unions will be hesitant to publicly support a mandate until they can iron out all these details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeffrey Hirsch<\/a>, Professor of Law, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jeffrey Hirsch, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, labor unions have been among the strongest advocates for workplace safety measures. So it came as a surprise to many that some unions have resisted the imposition of vaccine mandates, ranging in sentiment from cautious to outright hostile. Their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":27484,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,277],"tags":[1646,7689,7530,1651,3766,510,8193,7111,5272,10523],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27480"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27480"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27485,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27480\/revisions\/27485"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}