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Dozens of Massachusetts state soldiers are resigning rather than being forced to be vaccinated against COVID-19, according to union officials.
Gov. Charlie Baker gave an Oct. 17 deadline for Executive Department employees to prove they were trapped, an order the Massachusetts State Police Association (SPAM) tried to block in front of courts.
“It is unfortunate that the governor and his team have chosen to impose one of the strictest vaccine mandates in the country without any reasonable alternative,” the association said in a statement after losing its legal battle.
“To date, dozens of riders have already submitted their resignation papers,” said the association, which represents 1,800 members.
Some of them “plan to return to other departments offering reasonable alternatives such as wearing masks and regular testing,” SPAM said.
“The state police are already sorely understaffed and have recognized this by the unprecedented measures that have brought in soldiers from specialized units investigating homicides, terrorism, computer crimes, arson, gangs, drugs and human trafficking, and sent them back to a patrol in uniform, ”the union said.
The union said 80 percent of its members are vaccinated, according to the Boston Globe.
“All we ask is the same basic accommodations that countless other departments have provided to their first responders, and to treat a COVID-related illness as an injury in the line of duty,” said the union.
Meanwhile, a state police spokesperson told The Globe on Monday that “the department has been informed by our human resources office of a soldier who has definitely stated that he will be retiring due to the warrant. vaccination “.
“We understand that other soldiers have indicated that they may eventually resign or retire for this reason, but as of [Monday evening] we only know one, ”insisted the spokesperson.
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