Corrections workers protest Biden mandate

Union members from the Lewisburg and Allenwood Penitentiaries stood on either side of Route 15, north of the Allenwood Sheetz, for an "informational picket" that opposed the firing of employees for defiance to recent vaccination mandates.

President Joe Biden's masking mandate required all federal employees, including prison workers and correction officers, to become fully vaccinated by Nov. 22 or face disciplinary measures that could include being fired.

However, Andy Kline, union president of CPL-33, Local 148, accused the Biden administration of failing to bargain with unions, including Local 148 of United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg.

"This administration is not union-friendly at all -- something they campaigned on," Kline said. "They came up with a deadline: Whether you have one year in or 30 years in, you're going to have this vaccination by November or [they are] going to fire you for Christmas."

According to Christopher Wade, a chief of human resources in the bureau of prisons, the national and local unions were given no option to bargain or negotiate the mandate. Wade said this was a violation of the union's collective bargaining rights.

"Allowing the union to bargain would have allowed options for staff to get tested instead of vaccinated, allow them the only FDA-approved vaccine and many more possibilities," Kline said.

Finally, Kline said almost all of the bureau of prisons institutions are operating while 10-40% understaffed and are struggling to meet hiring goals.

"This is due to a decade of hiring freezes, cutbacks, 'right sizing' and other failed attempts to stay within the budget," Kline said.

Kline predicted that the mandate will result in around 10% more employees retiring early or being fired.

"Firing staff starting this December is just going to make a bad situation worse," Kline said. "Not to mention it is a terrible way to thank them for years of distinguished service in a dangerous environment."

At USP Lewisburg, four new hires who made it through the entire process eventually refused to work at the penitentiary because of the vaccine mandate, Kline said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourage those who have had COVID-19 to receive a vaccination, citing a study published on Aug. 6 that determined that individuals who were infected with COVID-19 in 2020 were 2.34 times more likely to be reinfected by COVID-19 than those who were fully vaccinated. Despite this, Kline claimed that many employees have already been infected by and survived COVID-19, and that antibodies formed from having COVID-19 are "up to 25 times more effective than any vaccine," citing no sources.

Finally, Kline said there is no imminent need for federal workers to be vaccinated because certain individuals are exempt from the mandated vaccines, such as the inmates, refugees, undocumented immigrants, legislators and their staff and the staff of every vaccine company.

"This is about freedom of choice; there is nothing right, and nobody should feel good about firing a veteran employee, destroying their career and causing great harm to their family because of politics," Kline said.

Kline said there will be a coast-to-coast national picket, from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles on Oct. 29, and invites unions and concerned citizens to join the peaceful protest.