疫情+政治化…公校学术指针退步 变成意识形态战场
世界新闻网
01/31/2022
全美各级公立学校目前正面临自废除种族隔离政策后的最大危机，不只新冠肺炎疫情导致学校的防疫政策成为校方与家长间争执不下的问题，就连教学内容也成为攻防重点，可以说美国长期以来保守与自由两种主要意识形态在教育体系中的角力，藉新冠肺炎全面爆发。
疫情造成的教育危机事实上不限于防疫政策，还包括因网上授课造成学生进度落后、入学率下降、旷课率升高等问题；统计指出，小学三年级学生的各项学习指针均低于往年水准，如阅读能力低于同年级学生水平的学生，比率从疫前的31%增至38%，而数学能力低于同年级学生水平的比率，更从29%大幅增至39%。
管理咨询顾问公司麦肯锡(McKinsey & Company)指出，从历史经验观察，服务较富有社区的学校遇到危机时的恢复能力比服务较贫困社区的学校强；现阶段因网上授课，平均而言非裔学生占多数的学校进度平均较往年落后五个月，而白人占多数的学校平均只落后两个月；研究员艾玛．多恩(Emma Dorn)就说：「重新赶上进度能力的差异，让我担心有些学生可能从此对学习失去信心而脱离校园。」
另一方面，入学率的下降与旷课率的上升，也是教育体系目前不得不面对的危机；据统计，2020年秋季班开学时，全国公立学校入学人数降至4940万人，比2019年同期少2.7%；但即便学生注册入学，也不代表学生均会出席，以康乃狄克州为例，惯性旷课的学生比率从2019年的12%成长到今年的24%；倘此一趋势延续，长期而言对于依学生人数分配预算额度的公立学校而言有不利影响。
最严重的问题，莫过于政治过度涉入教育；如是否强制戴口罩本应是公卫议题，但在美国已上纲至自由权的保护，去年11月偏蓝的维吉尼亚州，就因为当时共和党州长候选人杨京(Glenn Youngkin)喊出「将教育选择权还给父母」的口号而当选，凸显校园内决策政治化的趋势。
此外，关于究竟是否该教「批判性种族理论」、能不能讨论奴隶制度、白人特权、种族主义等问题，都是家长、学校、政府三方角力的战场。
美国学校管理者协会(AASA)运行主任多明尼克(Daniel Domenech)指出：「什么都跟政治有关，我们到底是怎么变成今天这样的？现在的氛围创造出一种『令人不想参与』的环境，老师们只是想照顾孩子而已，但家长及政府却什么都要管。」
(VA) Youngkin & Miyares to Fight Unconstitutional Vaccine Mandates
01/09/2022
Press Release | Youngkin Transition Team
Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin and Attorney General-elect Jason Miyares today announced their intent to challenge the unconstitutional vaccine mandate imposed by President Biden’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
“The COVID-19 pandemic has caused heartbreaking health, societal, and economic loss and suffering throughout the Commonwealth and the United States. Our children have experienced severe learning loss and developmental challenges that will last decades, strained and stressed hospital systems are suffering from an historic staffing crisis, and a crippled supply chain has driven up Virginians’ cost of living.
“Instead of supporting state and local governments’ efforts to protect the lives and livelihoods of their citizens, the Biden administration has resorted to unlawful vaccine mandates that force hardworking Virginians to walk away from their paychecks. President Biden’s CMS mandate, ignores the hospital systems’ long-established policies designed to keep staff and patients safe and threatens the tenure of essential medical personnel at a time when staffing shortages threaten the health and safety of Virginians.
“While we believe that the vaccine is a critical tool in the fight against COVID-19, we strongly believe that the Federal government cannot impose its will and restrict the freedoms of Americans and that Virginia is at its best when her people are allowed to make the best decisions for their families or businesses.
“After the January 15th inauguration, the Commonwealth of Virginia will quickly move to protect Virginians’ freedoms and challenge President Biden’s unlawful CMS, OSHA, and Head Start vaccine mandates. Removing some of the staffing barriers to our hospitals, will provide much needed relief for our overworked medical professionals.”
Court orders halt to federal contractor vaccine mandate in 3 states
By Jared Serbu
12/01/2021
A federal judge in Kentucky temporarily blocked the government from enforcing its vaccine mandate for federal contractors in three states on Thursday, saying President Biden exceeded his authority when he ordered agencies to insert the requirement into their contracts for vendors and subcontractors.
Although the preliminary injunction only applies to contracts in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee, it is the first substantive decision out of numerous lawsuits making their way through district courts across the country, and other plaintiffs are likely to cite it in their own challenges to contractor mandates in other jurisdictions.
In this case — as in others — the states challenged the mandate on numerous legal grounds, but in a 45-page opinion, Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove found only one of them persuasive enough to warrant an injunction at this early stage in the lawsuit — that the president never had the authority to order the mandate in the first place.
The administration had relied on a 1949 law, the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act, to justify the president’s executive order for contractors. That statute gives the president wide latitude to impose procurement polices that promote “economy and efficiency” in federal contracting. But the authority is not unlimited, Judge Tatenhove noted.
“It strains credulity that Congress intended the FPASA, a procurement statute, to be the basis for promulgating a public health measure such as mandatory vaccination,” he wrote. “If a vaccination mandate has a close enough nexus to economy and efficiency in federal procurement, then the statute could be used to enact virtually any measure at the president’s whim under the guise of economy and efficiency.”
In order to justify an injunction, the court had to find that the state plantiffs are ultimately likely to win their case on the merits. Nonetheless, the judge emphasized that Tuesday’s decision is not the final word on what are still complex legal questions.
“The court is asked to wrestle with important constitutional values implicated in the midst of a pandemic that lingers. These questions will not be finally resolved in the shadows. Instead, the consideration will continue with the benefit of full briefing and appellate review. But right now, the enforcement of the contract provisions in this case must be paused,” he wrote.
The contractor mandate faces legal challenges filed by Republican attorneys general and other plantiffs in several other district courts, including in Arizona, Texas, Florida, Georgia and Missouri.
Those states, like Kentucky and its co-plaintiffs, argue that the mandate will negatively impact companies within their borders — and impose new burdens on the states themselves, since state governments have numerous contracts of their own with the federal government. Florida has also argued that the mandate forces its agencies to choose between violating their contracts or violating state law, since that state now has its own statute prohibiting vaccine mandates.
And the states have commonly used the same argument that proved initially successful in the Kentucky suit: that FPASA doesn’t grant the White House the legal power to mandate contractor vaccinations.
Attorneys for the government have consistently argued that it does. In the Kentucky case, they argued there are longstanding precedents, dating to the 1960s, that give the executive an extremely wide berth in using the statute.
“Courts have concluded, for example, that FPASA authorizes the president to require government contractors to comply with wage and price controls, to post notices at all of their facilities informing employees that they cannot be forced to join a union or to pay mandatory dues for costs unrelated to representational activities, and to require contractors to confirm employee’s immigration status through e-Verify,” Justice Department attorneys wrote.
The government argued that all the president needs to do is provide an explanation for how the procurement changes he’s directing are “rational and reasonable” — in this case, that the vaccine mandate will reduce worker absenteeism due to COVID illnesses and reduce labor costs for federal contracts.
But the judge found the mandate looks a lot more like a public health regulation than a procurement policy, especially since the mandate also applies to contractor employees who work entirely from home.
“Under the same logic employed by the defendants regarding the vaccine mandate, what would stop FPASA from being used to permit federal agencies to refuse to contract with contractors and subcontractors who employ individuals over a certain body mass index for the sake of economy and efficiency during the pandemic? After all, the CDC has declared that obesity worsens the outcomes from COVID-19,” he wrote. “Why couldn’t the federal government refuse to contract with contractors and subcontractors who work in crowded indoor office spaces or choose to engage in indoor activities where COVID-19 is more likely to spread?”
Judge Tatenhove explicitly wrestled with the question of whether he should issue a broader injunction that would have blocked the mandate in all 50 states and U.S. territories. Ultimately, he decided to block it only in the states who had sued in his court, and let the other cases “percolate” through other U.S. district and appellate courts.
“Not only are [nationwide] injunctions impracticable, they ‘force judges into making rushed, high-stakes, low-information decisions,’” he wrote, quoting a 2020 opinion by Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. “Careful review by multiple district and circuit courts, on the other hand, allows the Supreme Court the benefit of thoughtful and, at times, competing outcomes.”
‘Winning’: Southwest Employees Get Wind of a Huge Victory in Their Fight Against Vaccine Mandates
By Kyle Becker
11/26/2021
Southwest Airlines employees are receiving good news on their pushback against personally invasive vaccine mandates: Their exemptions are “all” being approved.
The word comes via Robby Starbuck, a director and producer who is running for Congress in Tennessee’s fifth district in 2022.
“A pilot at Southwest tells me the company just approved their vaccine exemption and all the exemptions from other pilots they know on the same day,” Starbuck said. “Automakers also just agreed with unions to not require the jab. We’re winning. Biden’s medical segregation policy is falling apart.”
This isn’t the first victory for the brave Southwest Airlines employees who decided to fight back rather than putting their arms out for company policy. In mid-October, one day after employees carried out a peaceful protest outside Southwest Airlines headquarters in Dallas, the company announced it will not be putting employees who are seeking exemptions to vaccine mandates on unpaid leave.
“The employee will continue to work, while following all COVID mask and distancing guidelines applicable to their position, until the accommodation has been processed,” according to an internal note sent to employees that was obtained by Fox Business.
“Earlier this month, Southwest became the latest airline to require its employees to get inoculated by Dec. 8, although it still gave employees the option to apply for medical or religious exemptions,” the report said.
“The Dallas-based carrier said it began mandating vaccines for its 54,000 employees in order to comply with new rules from the Biden administration requiring companies with federal contracts to have a fully vaccinated staff,” the report added.
Southwest’s CEO Gary Kelly earlier said in an interview on ABC News’ “Good Morning America” that employees would not be terminated over the company’s vaccine mandate, despite earlier company correspondence to the contrary.
“We are not going to fire any employees over this,” Kelly said.
The Texas-based company famously experienced a reported “sick out”: There was major flight service disruption that occurred within 48 hours of a lawsuit filed by the Southwest Pilots Association, which specifically mentioned the vaccine mandate.
“Southwest Airlines Co. pilots asked a court to temporarily block the company from carrying out federally mandated coronavirus vaccinations until an existing lawsuit over alleged U.S. labor law violations is resolved,” Bloomberg reported on October 8.
“The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association’s filing also asked for an immediate hearing on the request before a federal court in Dallas, claiming the carrier has continued to take unilateral actions that violate terms of the Railway Labor Act, which governs airline-union relations,” the report continued. “Those steps include the Covid-19 vaccination requirement.”
In related news, a federal appeals court in November delivered a serious blow to President Biden’s unlawful federal vaccine mandate. The Fifth District Court of Appeals’ decision to maintain an emergency stay over the objections of the Biden administration underscored the earlier ruling the vaccine mandate incurs “grave statutory and constitutional issues.” The legal decision’s ramifications were interpreted by legal analysts as ‘national in scope.’
The attorneys general of 11 states have filed a lawsuit to stop the federal government from enforcing its blatantly unconstitutional vaccine mandate. Separately, another lawsuit by 7 states has been filed, in addition to single lawsuits by Texas and Florida.
Pentagon to respond “appropriately” after Oklahoma Guard moves not to follow vaccine mandate
By Erin Doherty
11/14/2021
The Department of Defense will respond “appropriately” to a decision this week by the Oklahoma National Guard to rescind the Pentagon’s requirement for service members to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Driving the news: “We are aware of the memo issued by the Oklahoma Adjutant General regarding COVID vaccination for Guardsmen and the governor’s letter requesting exemption. We will respond to the governor appropriately,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told Axios in a statement.
- “That said, Secretary Austin believes that a vaccinated force is a more ready force. That is why he has ordered mandatory vaccines for the total force, and that includes our National Guard, who contribute significantly to national missions at home and abroad,” Kirby added.
State of play: The Pentagon’s statement comes after Brig. Gen. Thomas Mancino, who now oversees the Oklahoma National Guard, “rescinded” the requirement.
- Mancino cited a written request from the governor to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin asking DOD to “immediately consider suspending the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for national guardsmen in Oklahoma.”
- Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) is “awaiting an decision” from the Defense secretary, Mancino wrote in the memo dated Thursday
- “No negative administrative or legal action will be taken against Guardsmen who refuse the COVID-19 vaccine,” according to the memo.
Nov 14, 2021
The big picture: Mancino earlier this week was selected by Stitt to replace Gen. Michael Thompson, who had supported COVID-19 vaccinations and said that members who do not receive the vaccine would be advised on alternative options.
- Thompson told reporters on Thursday that he learned he’d been relieved of duty via social media.
- A spokesperson for Stitt, who has vocally opposed the vaccine requirement for Oklahoma National Guard members, told AP that Mancino’s hire was not due to the vaccination policy.
- “The governor had been exploring making a change for a number of months, and Thompson had submitted his resignation” in October to take effect in January, spokesperson Carly Atchison said, per AP.
- Thompson told the Tulsa World that the governor had asked him to resign in October but that they agreed he would remain in place until January.
New vaccine mandate bans foreign visitors who got the wrong shot
We spoke with a couple separated by the new rule
By Rob Manch
11/12/2021
PORT CHARLOTTE — Imagine being fully-vaccinated against COVID-19 and still being told you can’t get on an airplane.
That’s the reality this week for millions of people across the world, thanks to a new proclamation signed by President Joe Biden. Foreign nationals now have to be vaccinated with an approved vaccine in order to travel to the United States.
“It’s very frustrating because there’s not a timeline to it,” said Daniela Zamuvio, who is now stuck in Mexico because of the new proclamation.
We met up with her boyfriend, Jason Hayner, who lives in Port Charlotte and we spoke with Zamuvio in a Zoom call on his laptop. That’s how they have to stay in touch for now.
“I couldn’t even make a guess as to when I could have Daniela in the states with me,” said Hayner.
Zamuvio can’t be here because the proclamation says foreign nationals can’t fly to the United States if they don’t have an approved vaccine.
“Her vaccine that she received from the Mexican Government back in May is the CanSino vaccine, which is not approved by the CDC,” said Hayner.
The CanSino vaccine was developed in China and has been approved for use in nine countries around the world.
But the U.S. isn’t one of them, and that meant Zamuvio had to cancel her flight last weekend.
“It hit me and I was like oh, I don’t think I’ll be able to travel, and then we had to call everything off,” said Zamuvio.
And Zamuvio isn’t alone. People who got Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine are in the same boat.
“It’s millions of people that are being affected by this and not being allowed to visit their friends and family that reside in the U.S.” said Hayner.
With millions of people now facing these new restrictions, a professor at Florida Gulf Coast University tells us the new restrictions could begin to have an impact on businesses you visit every day. Professor Thomas Felke said areas like Southwest Florida, that rely heavily on the service industry, could start to quickly feel the effect of these restrictions.
“Things like retail, landscaping, all of these types of service-related industries that, we know that that’s where a lot of our workforce migration comes from,” said Felke.
And even if Zamuvio wanted to get one of the approved vaccines, there isn’t any data yet on the health impacts of mixing-and-matching with CanSino.
So for now, Hayner and Zamuvio have to settle for a screen.
“If somebody can give me a solution of what to do with my case, because not being able to travel is not one of them,” said Zamuvio.
There’s another part of the proclamation Zamuvio and Hayner find unfair. It includes a list of 50 countries that are exempted from the rule, because it’s hard to get access to vaccines in those places.
So people in countries like Libya or Afghanistan can travel to the U.S. unvaccinated as long as they test negative for COVID-19, but people like Zamuvio are stuck.
The list of approved vaccines for travel to the U.S. are:
- Pfizer-BioNTech
- Moderna
- AstraZeneca
- Covaxin
- Covishield
- BIBP/Sinopharm
- Sinovac
- Janssen/J&J
Covid-19 Vaccine Injuries/Deaths
11/06/2021
Rumble — Roundtable discussion with vaccine injured and medical experts on federal vaccine mandates and the importance of health care freedom.
美国陆军飞行医官特蕾莎中校关于新冠疫苗的证词
By 萧笙客
11/06/2021
11月2日，飞行医官特蕾莎·朗中校在约翰逊参议员主持的关于新冠疫苗的圆桌会议上的作证。
美国德州胡德堡陆军基地负责四千名陆军飞行旅官兵身体健康和飞行安全的军医特蕾莎反对对官兵、特别是飞行员强制性注射疫苗，向法院提出的临时禁令书写的补充材料。
Sen. Johnson hosts panel highlighting people claiming to be harmed by COVID-19 vaccines
By WEAU 13 News
11/06/2021
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WEAU) – Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson is giving a stage to people who claim they were harmed by COVID-19 vaccinations.
Tuesday, Johnson held a roundtable with several people who say they or a loved one experienced life-altering side-effects from various COVID vaccinations.
One panelist, who says she experienced adverse side effects from the vaccine, called for a federal safety net for others who are also injured.
Another woman at the meeting claimed that those who catch COVID receive medical help, while those who have adverse side effects to vaccines are ignored.
The panel included researches and doctors who generally agreed vaccines have a role in fighting the pandemic, but also cautioned against mandating them.
Johnson said the panel is not about creating fear or increasing vaccine hesitancy, but says federal health officials aren’t being honest when they say the vaccines are safe and effective, and shouldn’t be mandated.
“I had COVID,” Johnson said. “I’ve had my antibodies tested as my doctor told me. I’ve got a whopping level of antibodies.”
Johnson also spoke about his personal vaccination decision.
“Again, natural immunity should be strong, pretty long-lasting, which is the case of very, you know, many, many illnesses, many viruses,” Johnson said. “And so there’s no reason for me to get a vaccine.”
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fact page maintains the vaccines are safe and effective. It also acknowledges the existence of some of the adverse effects discussed at Johnson’s roundtable, and says COVID vaccines are under the most intense safety monitoring in U.S. history.
Survey: Majority of Federal Employees Disagree With Biden’s Vaccine Mandate
Comments submitted as part of the survey show a diversity of thought on the requirement.
By COURTNEY BUBLÉ
he majority of federal employees recently surveyed (53%) strongly or somewhat disagreed with the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal employees, while 44% strongly or somewhat agreed with it.
The Government Business Council, the research arm of Government Executive, sent a survey between October 27 and November 2 to Government Executive and Defense One readers, which drew 3,186 respondents. The survey had a 95% confidence level and margin of error of +/- 3%; the vast majority of respondents currently work for a federal agency but the results did include some retirees and congressional and private sector workers. President Biden announced the mandate on September 9 and the deadline is November 22.
“I am not pro or anti-vaccine, I am pro-choice,” wrote one federal employee in the comments section. “It should be a choice not a mandate, last I knew this was a free country.” Anonymous comments submitted as part of the survey show the diversity of thought on the mandate as well as the nuance of arguments on both sides.
Thirty-percent of respondents said they thought the vaccine mandate will be slightly or moderately effective in protecting the federal workforce from the coronavirus; 42% thought it will be very or extremely effective and 29% thought it will not be effective.
“The vaccine mandate is most likely legal. It’s also probably effective,” said a respondent. “It, however, does not mean the federal [government] should have the power to force adults and the civilian workforce to get a shot that they don’t want.”
The mandate requires all federal employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by November 22, or claim a religious or medical exemption. Those who decline vaccination and whose agencies deny their exemption requests will face progressive discipline, up to removal from the federal service.
Another respondent said, “the mandate will not be effective if the many false religious exemptions are approved,” because “most are not sincerely held beliefs, but just people that don’t want to get their vaccine.”
A different person said, “A coworker’s choice not to be vaccinated increases my potential exposure to COVID, potentially increases my workload if I have to cover for them if they are out ill and increases the cost of [Federal Employees Health Benefits]/Medicare.”
The survey looked at the difference of views among those on full telework compared to those going into the office at least one day a week. The chart below shows approval and disapproval levels based on that status, with those going into the office at least once a week more likely to strongly disapprove of the mandate.
“If you can do your job, i.e. telework, without contacting others there is no reason to be vaccinated,” said one federal employee in the comments section. “It is the individual’s body and they should have the right to decide what is done to it without fearing economic ruin.”
Another said, “I worked and put the protocols in to keep everyone safe. I worked on the front lines for the last two years and now you want to fire me?”
One respondent who said they work for the Agriculture Department’s Farm Service Agency said they love their job and customers they serve, “but lately I do not feel the agency has my back or appreciates the work our agency does. After being on the front lines, figuring out telework, changing the way our agency goals are achieved I feel the employees deserve a little more than a ‘do it or get out policy.’ ”
As for the ability to enforce a vaccine mandate, 50% of respondents strongly or somewhat disagreed that the federal government has the authority to enforce the requirement, while 46% somewhat or strongly agreed. There were no major differences in responses from managers and non-managers to this question; however, there were some differences among those in different work environments, as shown below.
The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel issued a legal opinion in July that says federal law doesn’t prohibit public and private entities from mandating coronavirus vaccines, even if those vaccines do not yet have full authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. Also, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a similar decision in May, which it updated in October.
As for regions, the area with the highest approval rating (54%) of the mandate was the D.C. metro area, which is where federal agency headquarters are concentrated. Respondents living in the Southwest had the highest disapproval rating.
“The D.C. power brokers are using us as pawns,” said a respondent.
While not a question in the survey, many raised concerns in the comments section about loss of employees due to the mandate.
“Is the federal government prepared to lose 20-30% of its workforce to retirements, resignations or terminations?” said one respondent.
“I will retire from federal service if I am threatened with discipline/firing,” said another. “ I am proud of my military service (Vietnam veteran) and federal service (FBI and [Internal Revenue Service]) and continually received ‘outstanding’ performance evals as GS-14. The federal mandate is morally wrong.”
Someone else said, “this is a train wreck, but may provide promotion opportunities for the younger workforce.”
However, there were also several comments encouraging vaccinations. “I sincerely appreciate efforts to get our team vaccinated,” said one person. “I am grateful for the mandate and wish it had come sooner.”
For comparison, a recent survey from Qualtrics, an experience management company, found that the majority of respondents (58%) supported vaccine mandates from either employers or the federal government.
“Employees in the [technology and information technology] industry are the most supportive of federal vaccine mandates compared to those who work in health care, retail and government,” said Qualtrics. “Roughly a quarter of government, health care, and private employees oppose mandates that would apply to them.”
Overall, 42% of respondents want their company leaders to enforce the mandate, while 39% do not, the Qualtrics survey found. That survey was done between October 12 and 15. There were 1,309 respondents who were chosen from a randomized panel and deemed eligible if they live in the United States, are an adult and are at least part-time employees.
Government Executive previously reported about reactions to the mandate from NASA, Federal Bureau of Prisons and other federal employees. While some agencies have shared their vaccination levels with reporters, lawmakers or the public, the levels are not known for all. Top House Republicans are seeking those numbers by November 10.
In one example, as of late October, several intelligence agencies had at least 20% of their workforce unvaccinated, with some as high as 40%, said Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, who is a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Associated Press reported on Friday. He cited information that the Biden administration gave to the committee, but hasn’t released publicly, and didn’t name the specific agencies since the full results were classified.
Biden admin considering vaccine mandate for businesses with fewer than 100 employees
OSHA rule for big businesses forces employees to be vaccinated or wear masks and get weekly COVID-19 tests
By Tyler Olson | FOX Business
11/05/2021
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says it is “seeking comment” about whether businesses with fewer than 100 employees should be subject to the COVID-19 vaccine and testing mandate it is implementing on big businesses.
OSHA’s requirement will force businesses with more than 100 employees to mandate vaccines or else their employees will need to wear masks and be tested for COVID-19 weekly. It will go into effect Jan. 4.
But according to a summary released by OSHA, it appears to be considering implementing the rule for small businesses as well.
“OSHA is confident that employers with 100 or more employees have the administrative capacity to implement the standard’s requirements promptly, but is less confident that smaller employers can do so without undue disruption,” the summary says. “OSHA needs additional time to assess the capacity of smaller employers, and is seeking comment to help the agency make that determination.”
The same language is included in the Federal Register page for the vaccine rule.
A Department of Labor spokesperson told FOX Business Friday that it is indeed considering whether to extend the vaccine or mask and testing mandate to businesses with fewer than 100 workers.
“OSHA chose a 100-employees threshold at this time because the agency is confident that employers with 100 or more employees have the administrative capacity to implement the standard’s requirements promptly,” the spokesperson said. “Because the emergency situation required OSHA to act quickly, the information immediately available to the agency did not allow it to confidently assess the impact on smaller firms.”
The spokesperson added: “OSHA will consider whether to extend the rule to smaller firms in the public rulemaking that begins with the publication of this emergency rule.”
Raytheon CEO warns company could lose ‘several thousand’ employees over vaccine mandate
By Mike Brest
10/27/2021
Raytheon Technologies’s top boss warned that the U.S. aerospace and defense company will lose thousands of employees who have thus far refused to comply with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
“So, we’re going to be faced on Dec. 8 with a choice. We’re going to potentially lose several thousand people who refuse to be vaccinated,” Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes said in a CNBC interview on Tuesday. “Now, this is a tough thing, but we are preparing for it.”
Hayes also said that 83% of the company, which has a total workforce of roughly 125,000 U.S. employees, according to Reuters, is already vaccinated while another 6% are “in the process of being vaccinated.”
Additionally, there is another 3% of employees who are seeking either a religious or medical exemption, while another 3% have said they don’t intend to receive the vaccine, the CEO added, though he did not address the status of the employees who do not fall into those categories.
The company has already begun hiring people to fill the upcoming vacancies, Hayes said.
Raytheon had issued a companywide mandate requiring vaccination by Jan. 1, but that order was usurped when President Joe Biden declared that all federal contractors must receive the vaccine by Dec. 8.
Hayes’s comments came the same day Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville sent a letter to the White House claiming that Biden’s “federal contractor vaccine mandate will have negative effects on our national security” and called on the president “to remove — or, at a minimum, delay and clarify — vaccination requirements on private companies and academic research institutions that are actively supporting the Department of Defense.”
Similarly, nearly a dozen Republican lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee petitioned the White House and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to reverse the Pentagon’s vaccine mandate for contractors over fears that it could lead to supply chain issues.
Roughly 100 employees at United Launch Alliance, a Lockheed Martin and Boeing joint venture that contracts to both the Pentagon and NASA, walked off the job Monday over the federal government’s vaccine mandates and pledged to continue protesting in the days leading up to the deadline to be vaccinated.
Former WSU football coach Nick Rolovich to sue university over firing after refusing vaccine
According to a press release sent by his attorney, Rolovich is accusing WSU Athletic Director Pat Chun of “discriminatory and vindictive behavior.”
By KREM Staff
10/20/2021
PULLMAN, Wash. — Former Washington State University football coach Nick Rolovich was fired Tuesday, Oct. 19 after refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and now he plans to sue the university.
According to his lawyer, Rolovich will be taking legal action against WSU and all parties responsible for his termination. The decision to terminate Rolovich came after his request for a religious exemption from the vaccine was denied by the WSU. According to his lawyer, WSU “indicated that even if the exemption had been granted, no accommodation would have been made.”
Rolovich is accusing WSU Athletic Director Pat Chun of “discriminatory and vindictive behavior,” according to the statement from his lawyer, Brian Fahling.
“Since at least early April, it became clear that Chun had already determined that Coach Rolovich would be fired,” Fahling says. “Chun’s animus towards Coach Rolovich’s sincerely held religious beliefs, and Chun’s dishonesty at the expense of Coach Rolovich during the past year is damning and will be thoroughly detailed in litigation.”
In the statement, Fahling says, “Chun’s discriminatory and vindictive behavior has caused immeasurable harm to Rolovich and his family. It is a tragic and damning commentary on our culture, and more specifically, on Chun, that Rolovich has been derided, demonized, and ultimately fired from his job, merely for being devout in his Catholic faith.”
Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church, has encouraged people to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Here is the statement from Rolovich’s lawyer in full:
“The termination of Washington State football coach Nick Rolovich on Monday was unjust and unlawful.
It came after Coach Rolovich’s request for a religious exemption from the vaccine was denied by the University. The institution also indicated that even if the exemption had been granted, no accommodation would have been made. As a result, Coach Rolovich will be taking legal action against Washington State University, and all parties responsible for his illegal termination.
Immediately after terminating Coach Rolovich, WSU Athletic Director, Pat Chun, directed campus police to escort the coach to his car, he wasn’t allowed into his office, and he was not even allowed to speak to his team. Since at least early April, it became clear that Chun had already determined that Coach Rolovich would be fired. Chun’s animus towards Coach Rolovich’s sincerely held religious beliefs, and Chun’s dishonesty at the expense of Coach Rolovich during the past year is damning and will be thoroughly detailed in litigation.
Chun’s discriminatory and vindictive behavior has caused immeasurable harm to Coach Rolovich and his family. Furthermore, the University’s deceitfulness about being unable to accommodate Coach Rolovich even if his religious exemption request had been granted, is exemplified by Chun’s actions arranging a “secret” donor trip that he had Coach Rolovich attend at the height of the pandemic in July 2020.
During that excursion, Chun and other attendees contracted the disease, but Coach Rolovich did not. It is a tragic and damning commentary on our culture, and more specifically, on Chun, that Coach Rolovich has been derided, demonized, and ultimately fired from his job, merely for being devout in his Catholic faith.”
KREM has reached out to WSU for a statement but has not yet received a response.
320万年薪傲视全州公务员 华盛顿州立大学教练拒打疫苗遭开除
10/20/2021
华盛顿州立大学(Washington State University，WSU)足球队总教练罗洛维奇(Nick Rolovich)年薪320万元，在领取州政府薪水的公务员收入排行榜称霸。但因罗洛维奇拒绝遵守华州要求公务员必须接种新冠疫苗的规定，本周稍早已被开除。华盛顿邮报报导，罗洛维奇堪称到目前为止，最为引人注目的公职人员拒打疫苗而丢饭碗案例。
华盛顿州立大学18日宣布已经解聘罗洛维奇。华盛顿州立大学美洲狮队(Washington State Cougars)体育主任秦派特(Pat Chun，音译)指出，罗洛维奇拒绝配合疫苗接种规定，已经失去获得校方聘用的资格。
秦派特在声明中说，这起事件让学校足球队感到沮丧。
42岁的罗洛维奇出身于夏威夷大学(University of Hawaii)足球队，2019年曾获西部山区联盟(Mountain West Conference)最佳教练。罗洛维奇年薪320万元，是领取华州州政府薪水的公务员当中排行最高者。
罗洛维奇今年暑假已经表明坚决不打疫苗，太平洋十二校联盟(Pacific-12 Conference)在洛杉矶举办媒体宣传，由于规定全体出席者必须打疫苗，罗洛维奇便因此缺席。
秦派特指出，校方与罗洛维奇协商长达数月，但罗洛维奇态度坚定，「他有权做出选择，他的决定就是不配合规定」。
华盛顿州立大学校长薛尔兹(Kirk Schulz)则在声明中说，虽然少数人士拒打疫苗而引发轩然大波，但学校接近90%雇员及97%学生则都打了疫苗。
薛尔兹说：「人们可以做选择，而且有好几个月的时间可以决定。这并不是突然发生的。」
除了罗洛维奇之外，华盛顿州立大学美洲狮队另外四名助理教练罗戈(Ricky Logo)、理查森(John Richardson)、史特兹曼(Craig Stutzmann)、韦伯(Mark Weber)，同样因为拒打疫苗，一并遭到开除。
美国ESPN知名体育记者拒打疫苗被开除
本文源自: 金融界网
10/20/2021
迪士尼旗下娱乐与体育节目电视网（ESPN）的知名记者艾莉森-威廉姆斯（Allison Williams）周一表示，她因为拒绝接种新冠病毒疫苗而被解雇，下周将是她在这里工作的的最后日子。
这位明星记者最出名的是她对美国大学橄榄球和篮球比赛的报道，她在社交媒体上的一段视频中说，她要求豁免不接种疫苗的请求被拒绝了。
威廉姆斯从2011年3月开始为ESPN工作。上个月，她在推特上发表声明称，在咨询了医生后，她拒绝接种疫苗，因为她和她的丈夫正试图生第二个孩子，接种疫苗“不符合我的最佳利益”。
ESPN的母公司迪士尼是众多要求员工接种疫苗的企业之一。该公司在一份声明中说，不会对威廉姆斯的个案置评。迪士尼表示，公司正在按照其法律义务，处理员工提出的豁免要求。
ESPN’s Allison Williams explains why she’s giving up her job over a vaccine mandate
By ANDREA HSU
10/20/2021
Lance King/Getty Images
ESPN college basketball and football reporter Allison Williams has joined a small minority of workers who have quit or been fired from their jobs over a vaccine mandate.
“I have been denied my request for accommodation by ESPN and the Walt Disney Company, and effective next week, I will be separated from the company,” she said in a video posted to Instagram on Friday.
ESPN’s parent company, Disney, had announced a vaccine mandate over the summer with a deadline of this Friday, Oct. 22.
In early September, Williams shared on Twitter that she’d decided not to get a COVID-19 vaccine while she and her husband were trying to have a second child.
“Taking the vaccine at this time is not in my interest,” she wrote.
The CDC has urged people who are pregnant or might become pregnant to get vaccinated, saying there is currently no evidence showing COVID-19 vaccines cause fertility problems and no data pointing to an increased risk of miscarriage among people who received an mRNA vaccine during pregnancy.
In the Instagram video, Williams spoke of her medical apprehensions about receiving the vaccine and added, “I am also so morally and ethically not aligned with this.”
“Ultimately, I cannot put a paycheck over principle, and I will not sacrifice something that I believe and hold so strongly to maintain a career,” she said in the video. “I’m going to pray things get better and that I can see you on the television set in some capacity in some stadium, covering some game soon.”
Williams, who had reported for ESPN since 2011, acknowledged she’s not the only one walking away from a career or a profession they love.
Hundreds of hospital workers have quit rather than get vaccinated, but they represent only a tiny fraction of employees overall. For example, Duke Health in North Carolina reported it had fired just 20 people out of a workforce of 23,000.
Meanwhile, United Airlines said it is terminating a couple of hundred of its 67,000 employees who did not comply with the airline’s vaccine mandate. Other employers that have imposed vaccine mandates are also reporting compliance rates topping 90%.
Veteran police officer resigns over vaccine mandate in chronically understaffed department
The department has chronically been understaffed and more officers could resign over the mandate
By Emma Colton | Fox News
9/21/2021
A nearly 30-year police veteran in California resigned over San Jose’s vaccine mandate as the police force continues struggling with chronic understaffing.
“First of all, it’s my religious belief. I also believe I’ve been given a choice about what to do with my body,” Sgt. David Gutierrez said after he resigned from the San Jose Police Department this weekend, KPIX reported.
Gutierrez spent 23 years with the San Jose Police Department working as a homicide detective, internal affairs investigator and patrol supervisor, before retiring in 2019. He then returned to the force as a reserve officer.
Gutierrez worked his last shift at the department on Saturday, and said he sent a letter to the city manager on Monday denouncing the city’s vaccine mandate, which requires city employees to show proof of vaccination or get a medical exemption. Those who don’t comply face disciplinary action, such as termination.
“Disciplinary action is when you have done something wrong,” Gutierrez said, according to NBC Bay Area. “I have done nothing wrong – by making a choice not to be vaccinated why would you be disciplined?”
Gutierrez added that he is not anti-vaccine and would be open to the city testing him on a weekly basis instead of enforcing the vaccine or getting a medical exemption.
“I’m not anti-vaccine. I don’t tell people, ‘You shouldn’t get it.’ But when it comes to my body, it’s my choice about what I want to put in my body,” Gutierrez said.
He sent his resignation letter ahead of the city’s Sept. 30 deadline for employees to get the vaccine, and said more officers could also walk off the job amid the department already facing understaffing issues.
“We are already understaffed and can’t afford to lose more,” Gutierrez said.
“If they let go police officers who’ve been here five years, 10 years, 15 years, you can hire somebody else, but you’re not going to hire that experience though,” he added.
A recent audit examining the last 10 years of the police department found the force has heavily relied on overtime as it struggles with understaffing.
About 200 officers in the department have so far asked for exemptions, many of which are for religious purposes. But the Democratic mayor, Sam Liccardo, says the vaccine mandate is overall working and doesn’t anticipate an exodus from the force.
“This is certainly for the protection of the individual members of our city team. But it’s also, critically, for the safety of our entire community because we know, obviously, first responders are out there interacting [with the public] every day,” Liccardo said, according to KPIX.
Northern NY hospital to stop delivering babies after resignations over Covid-19 vaccine
BY Christine Vendel
9/12/2021
A hospital in New York plans to stop delivering babies later this month because too many maternity workers resigned rather than get the Covid-19 vaccine.
Lewis County Health System Chief Executive Officer Gerald R. Cayer announced at a news conference Friday afternoon that the maternity department would be closed on Sept. 25 until they can find enough vaccinated nurses to safely reopen it.
Cayer told reporters in Lowville, is the North Country of New York state, that seven of the 30 people who have resigned from the hospital worked in the maternity department, according to the news site NNY360.
Seven additional maternity workers have not said whether or not they will get their first vaccine shot by Sept. 27, which is the deadline set by the state for healthcare workers to get at least one shot, according to the news site.
The health system has a higher than average percentage of its staff vaccinated, Cayer told reporters, with 464 employees vaccinated out of 650, or 73 percent.
But there are still 165 employees who have not yet shared their decision with hospital management, WWNY television news reported.
Medical services in five other departments may have to be cut back as well if more staff members resign because they refuse to be vaccinated
“It just is a crazy time,” Mr. Cayer said, according to NNY360, “It’s not just LCHS-centric. Rural hospitals everywhere are really trying to figure out how we’re going to make it work.”
“If you don’t have staff, how do you deliver the service? That’s what I’m going to be talking about,” Cayer said.
The Health System is one of only two county-owned hospitals left in the state and is the largest employer in the county.
