SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 29: A Valley Transit Authority mild rail practice heads to a station earlier than the Las Vegas Raiders sport towards the San Francisco 49ers exterior of Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority has introduced it is going to order all of its 2,100 workers to be vaccinated, a transfer that comes months after different Bay Space transit businesses like BART, Caltrain, AC Transit, SamTrans and San Francisco’s Muni issued related mandates.
The requirement will apply to each VTA’s frontline staff like its bus drivers and lightweight rail staff in addition to its administrative employees. Whereas particulars are nonetheless being labored out, the company mentioned in a tweet Monday that inoculation towards COVID-19 could be a situation of employment. The company added it received’t settle for testing in lieu of photographs however will think about permitting medical and non secular exemptions.
When the vaccines first got here out final winter, transit staff at VTA got early precedence to take them.
“Now, we’re simply attempting to carry it the remainder of the best way residence,” VTA spokeswoman Stacey Ross mentioned. The beginning date continues to be being decided, she mentioned, and so is the definition of “absolutely vaccinated” as both simply the primary spherical of photographs or a booster too.
Ross mentioned 54% of VTA’s frontline staff and 60% of all its staff together with administrative have self-reported that they're vaccinated. Compared, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Division has a 92% vaccination price.
The looming mandate is opposed by John Courtney, president of the VTA’s largest union. He mentioned the South Bay bus and lightweight rail operator shouldn't be imposing a mandate towards frontline staff nonetheless enduring a mass taking pictures and cyber assault in 2021.
“An honest firm would talk about a coverage change with enter from the employees,” mentioned Courtney, who represents about 1,500 workers, together with bus drivers and lightweight rail operators. He mentioned many staff strongly oppose the requirement and the union is pushing for a COVID testing possibility for non-vaccinated workers.
“What VTA is attempting to do is scare individuals into getting a vaccination,” he mentioned.
Earlier vaccine mandates have led to some disruption of public transit service, together with on Muni bus strains after some drivers didn't comply. Bay Space transit businesses haven't been hit by large-scale resignations, nevertheless.
The VTA’s order comes because the county’s well being division has required staff in high-risk settings comparable to hospitals, jails and nursing properties to obtain a booster shot until they’re granted exemptions.The county’s booster mandate doesn't embrace businesses like VTA.