NATE Calls for Public Comment Period on Proposed Federal Vaccine Mandate
As different organizations work to implement the latest federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate, the tower organization NATE is requesting that its members have the right to publicly comment on the issue.
On Oct. 20 NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association sent a letter to Pres. Joe Biden requesting the organization be able to make comments on the vaccine rule implementation being proposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
[Read: NATE Sets Membership Record]
The move comes after Pres. Biden signed an executive order in September requiring employers with more than 100 employees to either mandate their employees be vaccinated or conduct weekly testing of unvaccinated employees. The president also ordered that all federal contractors working on federal property be vaccinated (with no testing option).
But NATE expressed concern that the temporary emergency standard that OSHA is expected to follow as a result of the federal mandate does not allow for public comment. The organization said that 85% of NATE members believe that some staff would resign if they are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and a full 30% indicated they would lose more than half of their workers.
Photo: Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAM“Like many other industries involved in the skilled trades, NATE members have struggled to recruit skilled workers,” the organization said in its letter to the White House. “The possibility of losing a significant number of tower technicians is a serious concern for NATE members, and the potential of losing workers could come at a time when America is investing billions of dollars in broadband projects.”
“Simply put,” the letter said, “NATE members fear that if we do not implement federal vaccination goals in a responsible manner, then they could lose a significant number of workers who are vital to building and deploying broadband services to rural, unserved, and underserved communities.”
[Read: COVID Doesn’t Care About Trade Shows]
Instead, a public comment period would allow for OSHA staff to hear directly from NATE members so they could get a clearer understanding of how a vaccine mandate could impact workers.
“We urge President Biden and OSHA to open a public comment period so the administration can hear directly from NATE’s small business members and gain a better understanding of how vaccine mandates would impact their workforce and the country’s ambitious 5G and broadband deployment goals,” it said.
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