Continue to emerge stories about Siemens and other employees being forced into a COVID vaccination by their employers or fired. As we learned from my colleague Bonchie, despite the stay issued by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on November 6, Joe Biden is simply doubling down, continuing his push for corporations to move forward in its “get vaxxed or get axed” stance, as though there was no court injunction. Biden has even suggested that small businesses, with less than 100 workers, will be forced to comply!
Since November 4, the mandate had not been submitted to the Office of the Federal Register. It was stopped within five working days.
The mandate is now listed Several policy templates to assist businesses in vaccinating and testing their workforce. The ETS also includes a list of employers and workplaces. Employers with over 100 workers must have their staff vaccinated by the 4th January. Non-vaccinated workers must submit weekly positive Covid-19 testing or they will be prohibited from entering the workplace. Employers will also require that unvaccinated employees wear masks.
Republican Attorney Generals of Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina submitted a petition challenging the mandate. They cited constitutional and statutory issues in the challenge to the mandate.
Frankie is an employee of Siemens and a research engineer. Frankie mentions in the letter that Frankie’s son is also employed by Siemens. Even though the 5Th Circuit Court of Appeals shuts down Biden’s vaccine mandate, there is still the wholesale destruction of trust between Siemens and its employees, and the subsequent fallout from it. Long-term quality workers have decided to retire, or even resign. It is difficult to know who will replace them, given the lack of market skills. There is also the uncertainty and confusion that employees and managers have experienced due to the shifting goals.
Essentially, Frankie wants the world to know that the Siemens employees are not doing okay, and the only clear resolution is for company’s to back down and refuse to comply with the mandate.
Here is Frankie’s letter in its entirety. This letter has been edited to be more clear and includes some of my analysis on certain points.
Jennifer, it’s a good day.
Although I would prefer to remain anonymous, I’m willing to talk about the situation with vaccine mandates, and how Siemens is dealing with it. In early 2020 COVID struck. I was among two to three others who worked in the facility daily doing whatever was necessary in order to help people work from home. It feels like a betrayal to the way that they’ve handled this.
The first responders are doctors, nurses police and EMTs. These people put their lives on the line before COVID was invented, but now they’re being unceremoniously expelled because they refused this mandate. This act is unconscionable in its coldness.
My wife is fine, as she is blind and has been on disability since last year. What she makes pays most of the utilities. She is covered by Medicare so she can be cared for. Myself, I’ll be going without health insurance once again if this all comes to fruition.
Although we aren’t wealthy, our lives have been blessed enough that almost all of our debts are gone. This makes our lives easier, but it is also a great relief to know that there are many people in worse financial situations than us. They have to take care of this urgently. My son was also not vaccinated but works for Siemens. He had to attempt to obtain an exemption. It was his first house that he bought last year. He will not be able to afford the monthly bills if it ends. While I may have sufficient savings to cover his mortgage for the next few months, it is unlikely that it will be required.
The stress level has been overwhelming from my point of view. To keep my blood pressure under control, I started taking medication. We’ve frozen our spending and have set a food budget of between $50.00 and $60.00 a week. If we can maintain those levels then we’ll be able to ride it out for a year. Your Red Beans and Fried Rice are delicious! [Podcast]It is. We’ve been prepping for years, so it is a lot of beans and rice to go along with our meager store visits.
No doubt that the Biden administration‘s ballooning inflation is not helping their circumstance either.
We are not sure if the stay through the federal Court of Appeals is not going to have any impact on how Siemens is handling this “mandate.” Rather than go with the OSHA guidelines, they are deferring to an executive order that changed the wording of federal contracts requiring federal contractors to have a vaccinated workforce. One week ago, the State of Tennessee passed several laws which might help to reduce unemployment. They also passed a law restricting vaccine mandates, but Siemens responded with, “Federal law trumps state law.”
Siemens is using this dodge to conceal the fact that it’s categorically false. The National Constitutional Center states:
It is more difficult to answer the question of a vaccine mandate at a federal level. The CRS states that there is no law which allows the federal government issue vaccine mandates to general populations. These exceptions include requiring proof of vaccination for immigrants requesting permanent resident status and vaccine mandates for military service members—allowing for certain exemptions. Recent orders from President Joe Biden to federal workers and contractors included requiring proof of vaccination for immigrants requesting permanent resident status and vaccine mandates for military service members.
[…]
Under the Constitution’s Spending Clause, Congress could provide financial incentives for states to enact mandates. Under the Commerce Clause, it could regulate vaccination requirements for interstate travel. But any federal actions to enforce or incentivize vaccine mandates may face legal challenges based on the 10th Amendment’s prohibition on commandeering or forcing states to use their own resources to carry out federal policies
The plaintiffs used a variety of arguments to convince the Circuit Court Judges to stay the order. One argument was the questionable methods OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), used to create the hastily issued mandate.
[T]It is not the federal government’s primary responsibility to provide public health protection, prevent communicable diseases and require vaccination. The administration therefore presented the vaccine mandate as an “emergency temporary standard” (ETS) issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which is charged specifically with protecting employees from workplace hazards. The mandate can be challenged on constitutional and statutory grounds, as the 5th Circuit ruled.
Federal government is aware of exactly what they are doing in order to circumvent the Constitution. Siemens employs enough lawyers to do the same research. But as referenced in RedState’s first exclusive on Siemens’ history, ensuring the company maintains its cozy relationship with the United States government and maintains its monied contracts appears to be the driving factor behind its decisions, as Frankie has come to recognize:
The executive order was the referenced federal law when asked further. An executive order is not a law. It is like they’re flying by the seat, waiting to see what happens. We are wondering if Dec. 8th will be our final day, or if January 4th will. It will either be a miserable Christmas or a sad new year.
This issue is very important to me. He has served as the main point of contact for HR. My son has asked the tough questions, and they were honest to his face. I’m waiting to see if they will actually terminate one of their top-tier and highly respected people. Doesn’t make it easy, but I will fall on principle if I must.
If this battle has shown anything, it’s that certain states and the federal government have no principles. Frankie also addressed his U.S. representative. Frankie has also pleaded his case to U.S. Senator and Governor.
Consider the following:ThCircuit Court of Appeals stays, Siemens issues this halfhearted pivot to the enforcement dates.
But make no mistake, they continue to be in league with the federal government in ensuring the mandates are enforced as the new “timeline” shows.
Frankie sent the email above and made the following insightful assessment.
This is a very powerful sentence. The threats of termination were their first warning sign. We are now grateful for their loyalty and commitment. They have decided to forgo the OSHA TCA, and instead opt for the contract aspects.
“All parties involved work extremely hard in order to resolve these difficult issues. We want to keep every employee. It is our goal to retain every employee. Your loyalty and continued support of the company is greatly appreciated..”
Siemens cannot reverse its treachery of loyal workers or erase the stain left by its malfeasance. It is just like the smell of Nazis collusion and fraud.
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