News & Commentary

August 23, 2021

Jason Vazquez

Jason Vazquez is a staff attorney at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 2023. His writing on this blog reflects his personal views and should not be attributed to the Teamsters.

On Monday morning the FDA granted full approval to the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, which will activate vaccination mandates for more than a million employees in a range of industries — at hospitals, universities, airlines, and in the military.  And the approval is likely to trigger more mandates in the coming weeks.  In the wake of the news, New York City announced stricter vaccination requirements for public employees, and oil giant Chevron ordered its field workers to get vaccinated.

In organizing news, the New York City Council Union secured voluntary recognition on Sunday night. The union represents more than 350 legislative aides.  It began its organizing efforts in 2019, though significant disaffection among the staffers has been simmering for at least a decade.

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