CUPE 411 – A Message to Our Members…. (REVISED)

CUPE Local 411 does not believe that an Employer, Political Body (Government), or agents thereof should have the authority to mandate any person to be vaccinated, full stop!  We see any such mandate to be a grotesque misuse of power and will continue to oppose any and all directives of this nature.

We firmly believe that it is an individual’s choice on whether or not they want to be vaccinated and such decisions should never come at the expense of having to sacrifice one’s ability to maintain employment.

Mandate’s such a this are setting a very dangerous precedent and we need to think outside of this current pandemic to what the deeper implications could mean, not just for us as workers in the K-12 sector, but every member of society as a whole.

While your Union firmly believes in mitigating risk while in the workplace taking away one’s rights and freedoms when it comes to their bodies is not something we would ever condone or endorse.

The Union suggests that members continue to educate themselves on ALL the options available to them on how to mitigate exposures in the workplace when it comes to communicable diseases and to adhere to these preventative measures wherever and whenever possible.

We also want to remind members that any details pertaining to your vaccination history is considered private medical information and your co-workers and immediate supervisors should not be asking you what your current vaccine status is.  Please know that you have the right to refuse to answer any such intrusive inquiries.

CUPE 411 wants you to be aware that if an employer institutes a vaccine mandate, the expectation from the Employer, will be that employees are to comply with it. A failure to comply with their employer’s mandate, could place an employee at risk to their employment with that employer.

Members that would like to share their concerns regarding the vaccine mandate or any workplace issues related to COVID-19 are encouraged to contact an Elected Union Official to further discuss.

In Solidarity,

CUPE 411 Executive