AFL-CIO President Hedges Support for Employer Vaccine Mandates

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler softened the labor federation’s support for employer vaccine mandates even as she praised an impending federal rule to require private-sector employees to get vaccinated against Covid-19 or undergo routine testing.

Speaking to reporters at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Shuler said every worker “should be vaccinated,” but stopped short of embracing her predecessor’s unequivocal backing for mandatory vaccine policies.

Shuler, who was elevated to the federation’s top spot after the Aug. 5 death of longtime President Richard Trumka, echoed the sentiment of more skeptical AFL-CIO member-unions that all return-to-work procedures should be subject ...