Union Pacific, BNSF Railway, and Norfolk Southern say they have suspended their COVID-19 vaccination mandate following a Tuesday ruling by a federal judge blocked the Biden Administration’s executive order requiring vaccination for federal contractors.
Reuters reports that UP said 74% of its 31,000 employees were fully vaccinated as of Dec. 8, and that was still asking workers to be vaccinated and report their status. BNSF said it was pausing implementation of the mandate for its 35,000 employees.
The Wall Street Journal reports Norfolk Southern also said it was suspending mandate enforcement.
The mandates of those railroads, Amtrak, and Chicago commuter operator Metra, are the subject of lawsuits and countersuits between the operators and rail unions. Amtrak President Stephen Gardner told a congressional hearing on Thursday that his company was still proceeding with its mandate requirement and was preparing to announce service cuts related to a shortage of vaccinated employees [see “Amtrak sticks to employee vaccine mandate …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 9, 2021].
U.S. District Judge Stan Baker in Savannah, Ga., ruling on a lawsuit by seven states and a contractors’ group, said Tuesday the government’s mandate exceeded its authority.
As was eluded to above this is Gardners new path to eliminating the LD routes, if this mandate was repealed tomorrow Gardner would still proceed with his plan just to reduce/eliminate the LD routes. Congress need to freeze or take back the portion of the infrastructure funding that was to be dedicated to the national network or it will disappear down the NEC toilet. They use the excuse they need to do further testing on the new Acela’s thus the delay when it is really due to the fact that ridership in the NEC has not not rebounded as expected & they don’t want to launch their new premier train with so many empty seats.
The failure to vaccinate is basically means those persons are abortionists (willing to abort life). They are willing to spread the disease to cause illness and death in others. Vaccination opponents state 1% death rate which is 787,000 deaths thus implying these deaths are of no consequence. It’s more than just themselves, it’s the Covid victims that they infect that are then hospitalized clog up our health care system potentially denying care to other people and costing us billions of dollars in taxpayer money. My husband needed to be transferred to a major medical center for specialized treatment. The closest center 90 miles away could not accept him because they were filled up with Covid patients. Instead he was transferred 250 miles away. Stop Covid, get vaccinated and boosted.
For the zillionth time – only comments that contribute to the article topics, ok? Keep your personal opinions, divisive political views and hatred off of this forum. This crap gets so old. And you fashion yourselves as intellectuals? Jeez!
The vaccine mandate is public policy. Not railfanism.
There are so many third rails today that there no more running rails to be found in politics, work, and life…
The mandate plays directly into Stephen Gardner’s hand; now he can cut back LD’s and regionals based on crew shortages.
Cowards.
And short sighted, as it’s only coming back.
RR Management is breathing a big sigh of relief.
The wheels are coming off the corrupt and incompetent administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Smollett.
I’m vaccinated because my doctor recommended so. Not because of an illegal mandate from a senile career politician clearly exceeding his constitutional authority.
Charles – You spelled his name incorrectly. It’s Joe Brandon.
GEORGE – Did you get my last comment yesterday b4 the Baton Rouge article was taken down (shortly after I posted)? “Schlepediche” is east coast Yiddish. As I posted but you may not have seen it, a college friend who was Queensboro Jewish, described the Cleveland subway as “the most schlepediche train in America”.
As it happened I rode the Cleveland subway some years later. Didn’t seem any worse than the Queensboro IND subway.
Charles – Nothing was taken down on my computer. Must be a racist, white supremacist hate action directed at you. Zei gezunt!
Must be snowing in Wisconsin. Charles appears to of parked his butt in the chair in front of the TV and is getting a healthy does of the Fox News kool aid.
I don’t watch Fox News. Have a good day!
C.N.L.