Firings would exacerbate staffing shortages and could lead to cuts in light rail and bus service.
For months, the Valley Transportation Authority lacked a COVID vaccination requirement for its employees, even as the virus surged and every other Bay Area transit agency cracked down. But now that cases have plummeted, it is about to implement a tough policy that could lead to the firing of hundreds of unvaccinated workers.
The mandate, effective April 29, comes months after most Bay Area transit agencies wielded the threat of terminations to boost their own vaccination rates and protect anxious passengers. In the end, BART and Muni resorted to firing or forcing the early retirement of a combined 127 employees, a small fraction of their staffs. Both agencies now have vaccination rates above 99%.
But some transit agencies, fearing the loss of critical staff, have backed away from firing holdouts. Los Angeles Metro, the largest transit agency in the state, walked back a stringent vaccination policy and is now allowing COVID testing for workers who are not inoculated, according to Art Aguilar, president of the local chapter of the Amalgamated Transit Union. SamTrans and Caltrain have also avoided firing workers with a weekly testing exemption.
“We were the ones that showed up for the 12-hour shifts helping keep the doors open and keep buses on the road,” said Robert Bircher, 37, a VTA mechanic for the past 11 years who said he will not get vaccinated. “Now we’re the bad guys. We’re the ones on the chopping block.”
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