American Postal Workers Union Issues Blistering Statement Against Federal Vaccine Mandate

The American Postal Staff Union goes “postal” towards Biden’s proposed federal vaccine mandate. The APWU has issued an announcement that claims bluntly: “It’s not the position of the federal authorities to mandate vaccinations.”

“Numerous media shops have reported that the White Home is contemplating necessary COVID-19 vaccination as a situation of employment for federal workers,” the APWU stated.

“Sustaining the well being and security of our members is of paramount significance,” the assertion continued. “Whereas the APWU management continues to encourage postal staff to voluntarily get vaccinated, it isn’t the position of the federal authorities to mandate vaccinations for the workers we symbolize.”

“Points associated to vaccinations and testing for COVID-19 within the office have to be negotiated with the APWU,” the assertion added. “Right now the APWU opposes the mandating of COVID-19 vaccinations in relation to U.S. postal staff.”

“As an AFL-CIO affiliate, the APWU helps the battle for social and financial justice for all working households,” the union describes as its mission.

A February 2021 Stat Information piece lays out the case that federal legislation “prohibits employers and others from requiring vaccination with a Covid-19 vaccine distributed below an EUA” (Emergency Use Authorization).

“Whereas organizations are definitely free to encourage their workers, college students, and different members to be vaccinated, federal legislation gives that, not less than till the vaccine is licensed, people should have the choice to just accept or decline to be vaccinated,” Aaron Siri writes.

A July 2021 Nationwide Regulation Review article provides that authorized complaints at the moment are being introduced towards employer mandates for COVID-19 vaccinations.

“The authorized challenges have centered, largely, on the Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) capability to situation ’emergency use authorization’ (EUA) for medical merchandise in sure emergency circumstances,” Nationwide Regulation Review notes. “This was the process used for approval of the COVID-19 vaccines by the FDA of three vaccines in December 2020. In every of those authorizations, the FDA imposed the ‘possibility to just accept or refuse’ situation by requiring the distribution to potential vaccine recipients of a reality sheet that states (amongst different gadgets): ‘It’s your option to obtain or not obtain [the vaccine]. Must you resolve to not obtain it, it is not going to change your commonplace medical care’.”

The Workplace of Authorized Counsel to the President just lately issued a memorandum opinion on the “possibility to just accept or refuse” language below the EUA. The OLC memo delivered a tendentious, non-binding authorized argument that favors mandates for vaccines by faculties, employers and different entities.

The APWU represents greater than 220,000 USPS workers and retirees, and almost 2,000 private-sector mail staff. The union’s state and native associates are autonomous organizations that depend on the nationwide union to symbolize their pursuits in contract negotiations and in national-level grievances.