SMACNA and SMART Encourage Employee Vaccination
COVID-19 and the Delta variant have created challenging situations with moving goal posts for contractors, their employees and union workers. Determining the best way to keep folks healthy and minimize risks has proven challenging, while changing CDC and OSHA guidelines have both helped and, other times, caused confusion. Clients are increasingly establishing their own mandates on vaccination and masking policies determining who can enter their headquarters and job sites and detailing what the process is for entry.
With the ever-growing list of general contractors and owners in the Bay Area and elsewhere requiring vaccination and COVID testing, SMACNA has taken several steps to address these concerns and encourage vaccine participation.
In September, SMACNA President Angie Simon and SMART President Joe Sellers posted a joint statement strongly encouraging employees and family members to get vaccinated. They reminded everyone that new OHSA rules regulate that all employers with federal contracts and those with 100+ employees must ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated or require unvaccinated employees to produce a weekly negative test before coming to work.
Local 104 District 1 has also provided several communications to union members recommending that they and their family members get vaccinated.
As of this writing, other steps have been taken locally to address the need for safe working environments. Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) have been signed by Bay Area SMACNA and Local 104 addressing the ability of contractors to specifically request a dispatch for a vaccinated union worker if a property owner/project requests it. In addition, contractors may request that employees are vaccinated or comply with twice weekly testing and employers should apply the policy company wide. Union employees should be compensated for the time. Both the above MOUs are currently in effect through 12/31/21.