Days after an arbitrator ruled the state was unjust in punishing State Police troopers who refused to get vaccinated for COVID-19, the police union declared the decision a “victory for organized labor and our members.”
“Nearly two years ago, we stood in this very spot shoulder-to-shoulder with the National Troopers Coalition, our State Police Partners from around the country, to denounce and promise to fight against Charlie Baker’s draconian Executive Order,” said State Police Association of MA President Patrick McNamara at a press conference Monday morning. “Today we bring this full circle.”
An independent arbitrator ruled Friday in favor of eight state troopers suspended without pay for not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine due in October 2021 — though one trooper received the vaccine and returned to work before the ruling.
The troopers were suspended under Executive Order 595, which instated a vaccine mandate for all employees of the Commonwealth’s executive department.
The union said it attempted to negotiate exemptions for the troopers with sincerely held religious beliefs but was denied.
The ruling allows the troopers to return to work, and receive full back pay and earned seniority for their time under suspension. Their decision to return “will not be made lightly,” McNamara said.
“Charlie Baker’s discriminatory actions have harmed these members and their families both mentally and financially costing them not just their pay but also their health care coverage,” McNamara said. … “These troopers have endured immense suffering and emotional distress while suspended.”
The president also noted the union has another outstanding case in arbitration seeking to get 13 troopers who were dishonorably discharged reinstated. This most recent ruling, he added, “helps the case significantly.”
“This fight to right the wounds of tyranny left behind by Charlie Baker is far from finished,” McNamara said. “Rest assured the association will continue to fight for the rights of our members and will do everything in our power to get every last one of them an opportunity to return to work and back to serving this great Commonwealth.”
