The Port Authority of Allegheny County’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for its employees is to go into effect on Tuesday after a judge denied the transit union’s request to halt it.
Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge John T. McVay on Thursday issued the order denying the stay requested by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 85, which represents approximately 2,300 employees in the Port Authority.
The order, issued swiftly as the March 15 deadline for first doses approaches, comes after two days of testimony in which the union sought to show the court that their members would face irreparable harm either by termination or by taking the vaccine.
Joe Pass, the union’s lawyer, argued the transit agency should have formally bargained with Local 85 about the mandate before putting it in place. He was not immediately available for comment on Thursday.
Judge McVay wrote in his order that the union failed to show it would suffer immediate and irreparable harm, in addition to being unable to prove its claims that the mandate would negatively impact the public.
The judge wrote that the union could argue their grievances in the process outlined by their collective bargaining agreement, a lengthy process that will continue well past the deadline.
During the hearings, the Port Authority argued that the requirement falls under managerial rights. With approximately 70% of their workforce fully vaccinated against COVID-19, they said prior efforts to encourage employees to get the vaccine on their own terms were insufficient.
There have so far been 319 Port Authority workers who have already requested a vaccine exemption, and only 50 of those requests were granted, the transit agency said in court.
Mick Stinelli: mstinelli@post-gazette.com; 412-263-1869; and on Twitter: @MickStinelli
First Published: March 10, 2022, 7:45 p.m.
Updated: March 11, 2022, 10:57 a.m.
