By October 17th, state workers in Massachusetts must join 56% of other Americans in getting fully vaccinated against Covid-19 if they want to keep their jobs.
Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker issued the ruling in August, which covers around 44,000 employees and contractors of the state’s executive branch. Workers must provide proof of vaccination by October 17th or risk facing disciplinary action.
Now, the State Police Association of Massachusetts has claimed officers are handing in their resignations, rather than getting the shot.
In a statement, the association’s president, Michael Cherven said: “It is unfortunate that the governor and his team have chosen to mandate one of the most stringent vaccine mandates in the country with no reasonable alternatives.
“To date, dozens of troopers have already submitted their resignation paperwork, some of whom plan to return to other departments offering reasonable alternatives such as mask wearing and regular testing.”
Despite this lofty claim that “dozens” of workers would rather lose their job than get vaccinated Massachusetts State Police have said the number of troopers walking out is, in fact, much lower.
In a report for The Hill, a state police spokesperson said that just one trooper had so far offered their resignation over the vaccine mandate. Typically, “dozens” is used to refer to numbers that are multiples of twelve.
According to The Hill, “other Troopers have indicated they may possibly resign or retire for that reason”. But, at the present time, the state police force has received just a single resignation.
While it was noted that more troopers may be in the process of filling resignation papers, it appears that there’s a discrepancy between what the police union is saying and the actual facts on the ground, if you can believe it.