Biden's Vaccine Mandate Wins Business Community Support

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic the goal of most businesses has been to (i) remain open for business and (ii) maintain a safe work place for their employees.  In the case of my own form, that has meant strict mask requirement, having staff get vaccinated as soon as possible, and quarantinne for any staff credibly exposed to Covid.  Thankfully, the building management for thoe office I work from principally has pushed for similar requirements and even threatened to evict tenants that did not conform to the requirments.  The result has been, full vaccination and no business shut down whatsoever.  Would that more businesses and employees had taken such common sense, science based actions.   Now, the Biden administration vaccine mandate for employers with 100 or more employees is giving cover and support to businesses that were leaning towards a vaccine requirement for their employees if for no other reason that avoiding potential claims of having an unsafe work environment.  As for workers who refuse vaccination, in my view, allow them to quit or they need to be fired for "cause" either of which would not allow them to qualify for unemployment benefits. Republican opposition to the mandate shows how far the GOP has strayed from being a party that embraces knowledge and science. Instead, the GOP now panders to the most ignorant and ugliest elements of American society. A piece in the Washington Post looks at how many employers are welcoming the Bide administration mandate.  Here are article excerpts:

Bob Harvey’s phone did not ring.  In Washington, a political furor had erupted over President Biden’s new coronavirus vaccine and testing mandate for businesses, with Republicans howling about an unconstitutional power grab and vowing to challenge him in the courts.

But in Houston, where Harvey heads the city’s largest business group, employers took the news in stride.

“I have not heard from my members today, which is interesting. I think the reason is what he announced is so in line with the conversations we’ve been having,” Harvey, the chief executive officer of the Greater Houston Partnership, said Friday. “This will come as a relief to the business community, to have an order that requires all of them to move together.”

The president’s decision to require medium and large companies to subject their employees to mandated vaccination or weekly coronavirus testing represents a sharp expansion of the federal government’s workplace powers, according to political scientists and legal experts. ….. it also amounted to an unapologetic offensive in the culture wars that have divided the country and inflamed its politics.

Instead of directly mandating Americans take the vaccine, Biden effectively outsourced the job to the business community. But unlike previous White House interventions in the market — notably including President Barack Obama’s 2010 health insurance mandate — Biden’s action was welcomed by many bosses.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) called Biden’s move “an assault on private businesses,” but businesses in his state’s largest city did not see it that way.

“The context in which this is occurring really matters,” said Harvey, a former energy industry executive. “We’ve been hit hard by this fourth wave [of the virus] … and employers simply must play a role in addressing this problem. We’ve tried it every other way.”

In a recent survey, 23 percent of partnership members already required coronavirus vaccines for some or all employees and an additional 30 percent were considering doing so. Of the remaining members that were not, most said they feared that some workers would quit rather than submit.

The president’s blanket order, applying to all companies with at least 100 employees, eliminated that worry, Harvey said.

Employers in the Houston area have been talking for weeks about what to do in response to the virulent delta strain of the coronavirus, which has emptied workplaces and filled hospitals, Harvey said. Now, they can get down to it.

“The reality is there are a number of businesses that are wanting the government to step in. This gives them the cover to do what they want to do anyway,” said Charles Shipan, a political scientist at the University of Michigan.

Indeed, the vocal Republican opposition to the president’s initiative threatens to leave the GOP at odds with its traditional business constituency.

Harvey’s group has members in 11 counties, nine of which backed former president Donald Trump last year, and includes numerous companies in traditionally conservative industries, such as oil and banking. Among them: ExxonMobil, Chevron, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo.

Biden’s new covid plan also drew backing from some national business groups, such as the Business Roundtable, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the American Apparel and Footwear Association.

The president said he was acting, in part, to protect the economic recovery. In recent weeks, the resurgent virus has drained momentum from industries that had been rebounding, such as the airlines.

Employers added just 235,000 jobs last month, well below economists’ expectations, and forecasts for September aren’t much better.

If the need for federal action last week seemed clear, the response in some quarters to Biden’s announcement was hostile.

Several Republican governors, including in Texas, Georgia, and South Dakota, vowed to fight the mandate in court.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said Biden and the Democrats had “declared war against capitalism” and he pledged to “fight them to the gates of hell to protect the liberty and livelihood of every South Carolinian.”

Social media chatter about workers quitting their jobs rather than complying with the new federal mandate has left Wall Street economists unimpressed. Michael Feroli of JPMorgan Chase called it “noise,” pointing out that employees who quit are not eligible for unemployment insurance. . . . And cautious service-sector workers might be drawn back into the labor force if it appeared that more of their co-workers were likely to be immunized, he said.

Biden has ordered the Labor Department to write an emergency rule requiring employers with more than 100 workers to demand weekly tests or proof of vaccination. Violations are punishable with fines up to $14,000 each. Up to 80 million Americans could be covered by the action.

Frankly, I would go one step further: make vaccine refusers the bottom priority for medical treatment.  ICU units should be reserved for those who have acted responsibly and need care for heart attacks, strokes, accident injuries, etc. These people deserve treatment before those who through stupidity or insane ideology have refused to act to protect themselves and others.  If this cause some refusers to die, I for one will shed no tears.