(*This story was updated at 3:35 PM on Thursday, 8/12/21, with additional information on PSCOA and commentary from Temple University epidemiologist Krys Johnson, and at 4:05 PM with additional commentary from PSCOA)
Unions representing state workers in Pennsylvania faced a choice about how to proceed with Gov. Tom Wolf’s recent policy requiring tens of thousands of state workers to get vaccinated against Covid-19 or undergo weekly testing: Bargain or sue?
According to a recent one blog post by the president of the union that represents 11,000 state prison officers and other correctional workers, the lawsuit would not be effective.
“I was asked if the union could file an injunction on behalf of the members. We have investigated this matter,” wrote Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association President John Eckenrode on Aug. 2. “The answer is unfortunately that we cannot submit an application on behalf of the entire authority. You cannot file a general injunction.”
But on Thursday, Eckenrode’s union clearly changed its mind and said it had instructed legal counsel to contest the proposed policy.
In a letter to Wolf, Eckenrode stated that “the administration’s decision this week to mandate vaccinations and/or testing is a slap in the face – and, frankly, far too overdue, as thousands of our members have already been infected as a result of your inaction ,” we read in the letter signed by Eckenrode.
Under the recent policy, state hospital workers must be vaccinated or undergo weekly Covid-19 testing
Earlier this week, the Democratic governor said 25,000 Commonwealth workers in congregate settings and medical facilities such as state prisons and assisted living facilities must be vaccinated or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing.
The administration said the tests would be free for employees and would likely be conducted on-site.
While the correctional officers union is taking aggressive action, other unions covered by the order are taking a different approach.
Council 13 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents 65,000 public sector employees in Pennsylvania, said it had proposed negotiations with the administration on the recent policy.
“Our union remains committed to protecting our members’ rights as employees and fulfilling employer vaccine mandates through negotiations to ensure fair treatment for the workers who have helped us get through this pandemic,” AFSCME Council 13 Executive Director David Henderson said in a statement.
SEIU 668, the statewide organizing unit of the Service Employees International Union, also represents thousands of public sector workers, including some prison staff.
Local 668 President Steve Catanese told the Capital-Star that the union has spent time promoting vaccines to its members. The union also asked the Wolf administration to negotiate the policy.
Bargaining could still make the policy better and safer for people who oppose the vaccine on health or religious grounds, while maintaining the health of workers and citizens, Catanese said.
Catanese, however, continued that he would not spend union dues “filing lawsuits whose effectiveness is unknown.”
In an emailed statement, Eckenrode clarified that the Aug. 2 post was “old news.”
“Our lawyer has since looked into this issue in detail. “PSCOA believes it is on excellent legal footing and intends to aggressively pursue legal remedies for its members,” he said.
In his blog post, Eckenrode said he supports union members whether they want to get vaccinated or not.
“People who wanted to get vaccinated had and still have the opportunity to do so. We support people who want to get vaccinated and strongly encourage you to do so if you want to do so,” Eckenrode wrote. “If you are a person who does not want to be vaccinated, that is your God-given right as an American in a free society, and we strongly support your decision and will do everything we can to make sure it is not made mandatory. “
He added that the way to ensure members are not reluctant to get vaccinated is: Bill sponsored by Rep. Russ Diamond, R-Lebanon, which gives workers the right to refuse vaccination.
“They say if you don’t take the vaccine you will have to be routinely tested. If this is true, let them test you,” Eckenrode wrote. “The most important thing you can do is call your legislator(s).”
He also advised vaccine skeptics to “ask your doctor to certify that taking the vaccine would be more harmful than not taking the vaccine.”
As of Thursday, there are at least 4,800 prison employees tested positive for Covid-19 since March 2020 at least eight workers died.
However, vaccination rates among correctional officers also remain low. Just over 20 percent have been fully vaccinated, according to Department of Corrections data.
Regardless of internal discussions, Eckenrode in his Thursday letter blamed the Wolf administration’s policies for the spread of Covid-19 in prisons. He also pointed to the continued transfer of incarcerated people during the pandemic, as well as a vaccine rollout that has not prioritized corrections officers.
The state placed medical staff and long-term care facility residents at the facility above both the prison staff and the prisoners staying there vaccination plan.
With $370 million to spend on pandemic aid, Wolf is considering vaccine incentives
In a letter to Wolf, Eckenrode wrote that he believed the number of prison employees who tested positive was even greater than reported and that they may have “achieved natural immunity.”
“Yet for some unknown reason, federal health officials and the current administration are ignoring natural immunity,” Eckenrode wrote.
An Emory University study published last month suggested that those who survive Covid-19 may have “lasting and strong” immunity to the virus.
Another study released conducted this week by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, found that unvaccinated people had more than twice the risk of reinfection with Covid-19 compared with vaccinated people.
Krys Johnson, an epidemiologist at Temple University, pointed to the latter study in an email questioning the idea that immunity from Covid-19 can replace a shot.
“From a business perspective, regardless of prior infection status, it makes sense for every institution to require vaccinations to ensure continuity of services,” Johnson said. “From a humanitarian point of view, it also makes sense to minimize human suffering among staff and incarcerated people by requiring vaccinations for all people in the prison system.”
Spokesperson Lyndsay Kensinger added that the pushback from corrections officials was “extremely disappointing.”
“Getting vaccinated is the simplest and most effective way you can protect the public and yourself from the Covid-19 pandemic,” Kensinger wrote in an email.
