On November 13, 2017, we wrote to update you on the steps the USW was taking to challenge the mandatory flu vaccination policy. The grievance challenging the policy was taken to arbitration at a two-day hearing on March 28 and 29, 2018. The USW put extensive time and resources into preparing and presenting the case, including hiring outside labor counsel to present the case and bringing in a renowned public health expert from the University of Minnesota. Unfortunately, we received the Arbitrator’s decision last Friday, July 20, 2018, and Arbitrator George Latimer ruled in favor of Essentia Health.
The question for the Arbitrator was whether or not Essentia Health’s mandatory flu vaccination policy was a reasonable rule under the management rights clauses of our Collective Bargaining Agreement (contracts). While the Arbitrator acknowledged that this was “a densely documented, well-argued case and a painful and difficult dispute,” he ultimately ruled that Essentia Health’s flu vaccination policy is a reasonable rule and a lawful exercise of Essentia Health’s management rights. While we are disappointed with the Arbitrator’s conclusion, we are bound by it under the terms of the grievance and arbitration clauses in our Collective Bargaining Agreements (contracts).
While the decision is a significant setback, we will continue to advocate for your interests on this issue. The Arbitrator left open the question of whether there has been any disparate application of the flu vaccination policy, and we are evaluating our open grievances on this issue to see whether any present a strong case that the policy is being disparately applied and/or waivers are being inconsistently granted. Our Legal Department is also evaluating whether we have grounds for getting the National Labor Relations Board to reopen its investigation into whether Essentia Health broke the law by unilaterally implementing the mandatory flu vaccination policy.
Whatever the outcome of these legal processes, we will continue to be diligent in making sure that Essentia Health’s flu vaccination policy is fairly applied and that any employee who is entitled to a waiver receives one. We will continue to advocate for changes to the policy that better serve the goals of patient and employee health and fairness to employees.
If you wish to discuss this with your union representative, please call (218) 724-5223.
~Stacy Spexet, President