* Background is here and here if you need it. Press release…
The following was released by SEIU Healthcare Illinois President Greg Kelley on Gov. Pritzker’s recent announcement of Vaccination Requirements for Healthcare and Educational Workers:
SEIU Healthcare Illinois continues to maintain our ongoing efforts to ensure the health, safety, and wellbeing of our 90,000 members. We are committed to promoting every measure available in protecting not only our members, but our entire community, from the life-threatening impacts of the COVID-19 virus. As a result, we are in support of Gov. Pritzker’s recent announcement of the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for healthcare and educational workers.
As a union of healthcare and childcare workers, we understand how critical it is to ensure that our members are working in safe environments, while also protecting our most vulnerable populations.
In addition to our support of vaccinations and scheduled testing, it is our expectation to partner with employers to foster a collaborative approach in providing resources that enable workers to be vaccinated without negative economic impacts. These resources would include comprehensive educational programs which include channels for employee communication regarding the implementation of the vaccination.
We are dedicated to working with employers to help respond to worker needs as we combat this devastating disease.
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
The Illinois Pharmacists Association, Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists, and Illinois Association of Long-Term Care Pharmacy Providers support Governor Pritzker’s action of issuing Executive Order 2021-20 to protect the healthcare workforce, our communities, and patients that we serve.
Pharmacists are the most accessible healthcare providers and provide patient care in a variety of settings: from intensive care units, to emergency rooms, to long-term care facilities, to the corner neighborhood pharmacy. As healthcare providers, pharmacists took an Oath to uphold “the welfare of humanity and relief of suffering” as our primary concerns and that we hold ourselves and our colleagues “to the highest principles of our profession’s moral, ethical, and legal conduct” as entrusted to us by the public.
Through these darkest hours of the pandemic, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians have been there. We never closed; never stopped providing vital services for patients and continued to evolve our practices for safety, ensuring that needed medications, testing, and critical vaccines are accessible to the public. Despite these risks and dangers from the virus, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians have put themselves directly in harm’s way to guarantee that our patient’s medication and healthcare needs are met.
As our pharmacy teams continue to deliver patient care and battle against the coronavirus and its deadly variants, we expect all healthcare providers and healthcare workers to protect ourselves and our patients by taking the COVID-19 vaccine and wearing a mask to decrease spread of disease.
Illinois is counting on us. Our communities are counting on us. Our patients are counting on us.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Aug 27, 21 @ 11:18 am:
=== SEIU Healthcare Illinois continues to maintain our ongoing efforts to ensure the health, safety, and wellbeing of our 90,000 members. We are committed to promoting every measure available in protecting not only our members, but our entire community, from the life-threatening impacts of the COVID-19 virus.===
That’s how a labor organization responds.
- Norseman - Friday, Aug 27, 21 @ 11:27 am:
Isn’t this a change in their previous position? In any event, it’s a positive.
- Frank talks - Friday, Aug 27, 21 @ 11:46 am:
AFSCME?
- Steve Polite - Friday, Aug 27, 21 @ 11:51 am:
Council 31’s Lede in their message two days ago:
“RIGID VACCINE MANDATES WON’T WORK”
Oppose Rigid, Universal Mandate”
Council’s implicit message: “Opposing a vaccine mandate is more important than employees’ health and safety”
SEIU Healthcare’s message: “SEIU Healthcare Illinois continues to maintain our ongoing efforts to ensure the health, safety, and wellbeing of our 90,000 members.”
- NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham - Friday, Aug 27, 21 @ 11:54 am:
==AFSCME?==
Not just them, but what about SEIU 73? (Which includes state and local employees, including most SOS employees).
- Honeybear - Friday, Aug 27, 21 @ 12:07 pm:
Okay, so at this point I’m super concerned.
What is going on with Council 31?
Usually…actually almost always that I have known
Council 31 tightly coordinated with IFT and SEIU.
Council should explain why we are siding with CHicago Federation of Labor and the Police unions in opposing vaccine mandates.
And not with a Lindall fluff email.
Give the membership the straight truth as to
why we are positioning ourselves broadside to the wave of Delta?
Why we are positioning ourselves against science?
Why we are positioning ourselves with an irresponsible and morally reprehensible minority?
Don’t give me some bull crap about solidarity
( meaning be quiet and don’t cause waves)
We’re talking about lives here
I refuse to be complicit with this immoral and pandering behavior.
Organizing goes both ways council.
- DHS Drone - Friday, Aug 27, 21 @ 12:12 pm:
As usual SEIU HCII is out ahead of C31. Also keep in mind this SEIU local represents the child care and home care workers employed by DHS.
- Honeybear - Friday, Aug 27, 21 @ 12:16 pm:
By irresponsible and morally reprehensible minority I don’t mean those who have a legitimate medical or religious exemption to taking the vaccine. We need to protect those folks.
I’m talking about those afraid to take it.
It’s called cowardice and I find it to be morally reprehensible.
Cowardice has no place in union.
- Brian Eno - Friday, Aug 27, 21 @ 12:20 pm:
Honeybear nails it.
When you are AFSCME, whose work tirelessly to align yourself with the Black community, and you find yourself standing between the police union and the building trades, and you find yourself standing against SEIU and CTU in the fight to end a pandemic ravaging the Black community….
You may ask yourself “How did I get here?”
- Honeybear - Friday, Aug 27, 21 @ 12:40 pm:
I apologize for getting so jacked up about this but this news pushed me over the edge. Good for you SEIU
My labor activist trainer and dear friend and labor leader (EC) taught me “No permanent friends, no permanent enemies, only permanent interests”
Council, please explain why our own union members, workers, as well as the vulnerable residents of our state are not our primary permanent interests?
When and why did the interests of a minority of anti vaccine cowards become our permanent interest?
Go ahead explain it to all of us.
If there’s inside baseball let us in on it.
Because as I see it, the decision of council 31 is antithetical to our permanent interests.
- Dotnonymous - Friday, Aug 27, 21 @ 1:34 pm:
Hopefully this stuff will only happen once in a lifetime.
- Honeybear - Friday, Aug 27, 21 @ 3:00 pm:
I apologize to Council 31
A union brother just filled me in on the inside baseball of this.
I get the decision now.
For those of you perplexed by councils decision to oppose mask mandates just know there is a hugely compelling reason to appease the locals against it.
I’m very sorry I lambasted you.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Aug 27, 21 @ 3:03 pm:
=== hugely compelling reason to appease the locals against it.===
There is not.
If a labor organization can’t grasp…
===… maintain our ongoing efforts to ensure the health, safety, and wellbeing of our …members. We are committed to promoting every measure available in protecting not only our members, but our entire community, from the life-threatening impacts of the COVID-19 virus.===
… that is not a serious labor organization.
- AC - Friday, Aug 27, 21 @ 3:27 pm:
I’ve repeatedly compared Covid with the The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, because of its impact on the health and safety of workers. There is only one response here that protects workers, and giving aid and comfort to the virus isn’t helping in that goal. Copy and paste it from SEIU, it isn’t that hard. Internal politics can be difficult to overcome, but I’d rather stand on the side of health and safety than my own political future. My question for Roberta was asked by Pete Seeger a long time ago, Which side are you on?
- Joe Bidenopolous - Friday, Aug 27, 21 @ 3:35 pm:
AFSCME showed us who they are and so did SEIU. Only one of them did it right. Thanks, SEIU - you’ll continue to receive my unbridled support.
=just know there is a hugely compelling reason to appease the locals against it.=
I assume you mean vaccine mandate, but no, there really isn’t. You are either trying to end the pandemic or you aren’t. AFSCME is not.
- Steve Polite - Friday, Aug 27, 21 @ 3:50 pm:
Honeybear,
First I want to sayI have nothing but respect for you. I appreciate your passion and support for the union.
As an AFSCME member, I can’t fathom any compelling reason to oppose the best option for keeping all of us as healthy and safe as possible. Right now I am very disappointed. If Council 31 thinks they have a more compelling reason than our health and safety in the workplace, they should be communicating that to members. So far, they haven’t.
- Norseman - Friday, Aug 27, 21 @ 3:51 pm:
=== … just filled me in on the inside baseball of this … ===
Inside baseball or politics can be said of the actions taken by GOP politicians to hamper pandemic mitigation efforts. That doesn’t make it right. AFSCME is taking the wrong position on this.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Aug 27, 21 @ 3:57 pm:
- Honeybear -
I have nominated you twice for Golden Horseshoes, I have nothing but respect for you…
I stand by my comment. Wanted to let you know my thoughts to you haven’t changed.
- Flapdoodle - Friday, Aug 27, 21 @ 3:58 pm:
What appears to be “hugely compelling” to those within AFSCME may well seem otherwise to those outside it. Organizational politics and power struggles do not override the public interest. AFSCME messed up big time and forfeited its credibility.
- Amalia - Friday, Aug 27, 21 @ 4:05 pm:
Progress.
- Pundent - Friday, Aug 27, 21 @ 4:09 pm:
The only reason that anyone, be it a politician or union official, would oppose masks or vaccines is because they’ve placed their own ambitions and wants above the health and well-being of society.
- Norseman - Friday, Aug 27, 21 @ 4:15 pm:
Steve, they are worried about the continued viability of the union in the face of increasing right-wing radicalization of many in red areas of the state. This is the same rationale used by the countless “reasonable” GOP politicians for acquiescing to their lunatic fringe.