downthewell62 t1_jef9y95 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 4:15 PM

Reply to comment by raven_785 in SJC rules Mayor Wu had the authority to require municipal workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine - The Boston Globe by TouchDownBurrito

You can google enough to find 1 or 2 idiots saying literally anything. It was a big push or the main reason teachers were protesting

obsoletevernacular9 t1_jefza5a wrote on March 31, 2023 at 7:01 PM

Seriously, google "vaccine mandate", "collective bargaining", and either Becky Pringle or Randi Weingarten from the NEA and AFT. You'll find a lot of articles about the controversy over vaccine mandates for educators who didn't want to lose local bargaining power or agreed to a mandate in exchange for concessions. Randi fairly consistently said in summer 2021 that they would bargain for a mandate and did not support the idea initially until Delta was raging and the start of school approached.

This was a pretty big controversy in summer 2021. It's normal for a union to not want a mandate imposed on their members without gaining something.

obsoletevernacular9 t1_jefzk3z wrote on March 31, 2023 at 7:03 PM

https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/teachers-unions-have-opposed-vaccine-mandates-but-that-may-change/2021/08

downthewell62 t1_jeg0g97 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 7:08 PM

So I did look up both of those people, and it does seem like they resisted vaccine mandates. But mainly they said they support everyone getting vaccinated, but that there should be rigorous testing accommodations for those that can't get the vaccine.

obsoletevernacular9 t1_jeg1odz wrote on March 31, 2023 at 7:17 PM

Which makes sense - they wanted members to voluntarily get vaccinated, but didn't want to mandate it to their members unless they bargained for it.

I just double checked and 94% of the Boston firefighters union was vaccinated by January 2022, but they were still against it being mandated without bargaining for it.