AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT JOHN T.NICCOLLAI - THURSDAY, JANUARY 13, 2022

SUPREME COURT BLOCKS VAX OR TEST BIDEN MANDATE FOR ALL BUT HEALTH CARE WORKERS

President Niccollai reported today that the Biden Mandate requiring all Employers with 100 or more employees to implement a program for proof of vaccination or weekly COVID testing will not go into effect except for Health Care workers.  Many of our Brothers and Sisters were extremely upset by this mandate and numerous questions arose as to who would pay for the testing and whether it could be performed at store-level by a third-party.  For the time being, we will not have to grapple with all the problems arising as a result of this issue.

Our members should still be aware that Employers have a right to require all employees to be vaccinated as a condition of employment.  Your Union does not see that occurring since all our Employers are having great difficulty staffing stores and finding additional employees.

The Pandemic appears to be peaking in New York and New Jersey.  The medical and scientific experts are projecting that we should see a steady reduction of new cases and hospitalizations.  We all hope these projections are correct.  In the meantime, we ask all our Brothers and Sisters please don’t let down your guard.

CONTINUE TO WORK SMARTLY AND WORK SAFELY!