MN Fire Union Suit: Vaccine Mandate is Unfair Labor Practice

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Dec. 2—The St. Paul firefighters' union served a lawsuit on the city Wednesday over the coronavirus vaccine mandate for employees, making the same claims about an unfair labor practice as the police union did in a lawsuit filed last week.

The city didn't negotiate with the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 21 before making "a unilateral change to the terms and conditions" of employment for Local 21 members, the lawsuit says.

Mayor Melvin Carter announced on Oct. 21 the vaccine mandate for the nearly 4,000 employees of the city. The vaccination policy says workers "will not be permitted to work and may be subject to discipline" if they aren't vaccinated by Dec. 31. People may qualify for a religious exemption or an accommodation due to a medical condition or recent treatment for COVID-19, the policy states.

Unlike policies for workers at St. Paul Public Schools, Ramsey County, the city of Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota, St. Paul's policy doesn't include an option for employees to opt out of vaccination by agreeing to regular COVID-19 testing.

"COVID remains the leading cause of death for firefighters in our country," Carter said Wednesday in a statement similar to one he issued last week about the police union's lawsuit. "Amid the ongoing uncertainties of this pandemic, we'll continue doing everything we can to protect our city workers and our community from this global public health crisis."

A "significant percentage" of firefighters "have expressed ... personal, moral, religious and/or medical objections to receiving a vaccination," according to an affidavit from Mike Smith, Local 21 president. He and the police union estimated last week that 20 percent of their members weren't vaccinated. The fire department's authorized strength is 435. The city's firefighters also serve as emergency medical technicians or paramedics.

Numerous firefighters submitted exemptions over two weeks ago and haven't received responses from the city, said Smith, who noted "the deadline is fast approaching" under the city's current policy. The city's human resources department "continues to process attestations, and exemption requests as we work toward our requirement date," said Peter Leggett, Carter's communications director.

Both the police and firefighter unions are seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the city from implementing the policy before a negotiated agreement or a decision from an arbitrator. A hearing is scheduled for next week in the police union's lawsuit.

Attorney Chris Wachtler said he served Local 21's lawsuit on the city clerk Wednesday and is in the process of filing it in Ramsey County District Court.

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