Vaccine Requirement Response

On May 27, OHSU announced that it intends to require employees to be vaccinated to the “fullest extent allowed by law” beginning Sept. 1. OHSU made the announcement without informing our union or bargaining the implementation of the requirement. This lack of communication and engagement with employee’s representatives is unfortunate. 

Our union’s executive board will be meeting on Wednesday, June 16, and will discuss this in depth at that time. That said, we felt it was important to update our members on what we know now and what we expect to be doing in the coming weeks. 

First and foremost, we do not believe that OHSU can mandate this, and the careful wording of its statement (“fullest extent allowed by law”) implies that OHSU’s leadership have their doubts as well. ORS 433.416 states: 

A worker shall not be required as a condition of work to be immunized under this section, unless such immunization is otherwise required by federal or state law, rule or regulation. 

As of now, there is no law, state or federal, that mandates vaccinations for COVID-19 for any worker. For any institution to suggest otherwise is simply inaccurate, even if well intended.

Secondly, OHSU fails to state that, whether legal or not, this is a mandatory subject of bargaining. For OHSU to make such a statement before entering into negotiations is disrespectful to all employees, regardless of their opinions on the COVID-19 vaccine. Our union submitted a demand to bargain over the impact of this policy in order to better clarify processes, procedures and working conditions in regards to the vaccine requirement.

Lastly, our union supports vaccinations for workers. We also believe that employers need to follow the law and create policies that make sense and are reasonable. There is a fine balance here between individual and community rights, and we understand that folks have deep passions about this issue. We will do our best to shape policies and procedures that are balanced, thoughtful and safe.