By David Sherfinski

WASHINGTON Thomson Reuters (NYSE: Foundation) – The U.S. vaccination mandates give workers more negotiating power as collective and threat action win concessions to workers affected by the pandemic.

They say that labor unions, already enjoying a resurgence of interest under a broader push for workers’ rights, can use the mandates to negotiate better working conditions for members as they prep for a post-pandemic economy.

“I’ve been telling people that there’s nothing like a good pandemic to increase the power of labor, and I think that’s what we’ve seen happen here,” said Jon E. Anderson, a partner at the law firm Husch Blackwell who works on labor issues.

While courts have blocked many vaccine mandates from being implemented, COVID-19 requirements give unions the opportunity to bargain under federal labor laws. It is the one they use.

Anderson explained that “The pandemic has created a very scary situation. We would like for employees to run to their employers in order not be exposed.” “But they’re running to the union and that’s certainly in their right to make that choice.”

Anderson suggested that when discussing workplace safety or jabs, Anderson could suggest that attention can shift to the pay of workers. This is because there are so many staff shortages. Anderson also said that it might be possible for Anderson to push for more money.

“Everything’s negotiable,” he said. “There’s always the potential for bargaining to morph into something else.”

He said that there are other points of contention, which can be subject to negotiation. These include exempts for pregnant women and leeway for employees who have been vaccinated yet test positive.

TREND IS DEAD

Workers at big firms – from Kellogg’s to Starbucks (NASDAQ:) – have also called strikes and tested the heft of collective action as unions look to reverse a long-running drop in membership.

For the United States, the percentage of wage and salary workers who were members of unions was 10.8% in 2020 – part of a decades-long downturn – but it had ticked up slightly from 10.3% in 2019.

And more than two-thirds of Americans approve of unions, according to a Gallup poll released in September – the highest share since 1965.

Randi Weingarten, who is head of the U.S.’s second largest teachers union (NYSE:), said that Americans want unions and know they can control employer power and allow workers to speak for themselves.

“Bargaining solves problems,” the president of the American Federation of Teachers told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. 

“People who haven’t bargained and don’t have the muscle of bargaining don’t understand that it’s about problem solving.”

Businesses with more than 100 employees were required to create plans under the emergency pandemic rules announced by federal authorities in November. 

These rules were halted by the courts. However, similar mandates remain in force and are being implemented.

    BUILDING TRUST

Where? Tyson Foods (NYSE:) A mega-meat processor and exporter, announced its vaccine mandate. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union utilized it to reach what it called “first U.S. national agreement” that would give paid sick leave to meatpackers.

    The agreement “helps to ensure policies like paid leave…are also permanent improvements that strengthen these jobs and protect these workers for years to come,” said UFCW International President Marc Perrone after September’s deal.

    Tyson had separately offered $200 bonuses for frontline workers who get vaccinated. 

    “The union said, ‘you know, this is what unionization can get you because in a non-union slaughterhouse it ain’t nothing like this,'” said Robert Bruno, a labor expert at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 

GLOBAL PICTURE

Americans are not the only ones who are fighting vaccine mandates.

A Kenyan court blocked efforts to prevent unvaccinated persons from accessing certain government services. This was in response to criticisms from advocacy groups that it violated human right.

Unions in Canada and Italy have been fighting vaccine requirements saying that they violate workers’ rights.

One of the most violent revolts against Boris Johnson has been the approval of COVID-19 in Britain. This includes mandatory jabs for workers at National Health Service (NHS).

While mandataries might not be popular among employees and employers, they provide an opportunity for the two sides to communicate.

“The mandate is something that I don’t think employers necessarily wanted, I’m not sure unions wanted,” Anderson said. “But they’re dealing with it.”