The United Auto Workers members left the Warren Truck Plant after the first shift on Monday, May 18, 2020.
The United Auto Workers represent roughly 153,000 plant employees in Detroit, and they are being asked to submit their Covid-19 vaccination status.
The companies and union agreed to the "voluntary and confidential disclosure" of vaccination status during a meeting Monday night of a coronaviruses joint task force comprised of union leaders and representatives from General Motor, Ford Motor and Stellantis, according to a joint statement Tuesday sent by the UAW.
Ford and GM require non-union employees to submit their vaccination status in order to work there. The employees have been asked to submit their immunization status. Both Ford and Stellantis require their employees to bevaccinated. The vaccine mandate has not been announced by GM.
The UAW has encouraged members to get vaccinations, but it has not supported making them mandatory for workers. The union is relying on its members to get vaccine.
The union's position on a mandate hasn't changed, according to Brian Rothenberg.
The union would be open to discussions about surveying members about their vaccinations, according to Ray Curry. Most of the union's members have been working in factories for much of the Pandemic, so they are not being tracked.
Curry told reports in August that the union is encouraging its members to get vaccinations, but wants to respect the wishes of workers who may have medical, religious or personal objections.
The UAW is following the Biden administration's suspension of its vaccine and testing requirements for private businesses after a federal appeals court halted the rules pending review.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration standard and legal cases are monitored by the union. He told CNBC in an email that the union will have to see what the requirements will mean for their contracts.
The Biden administration asked a federal appeals court to lift the order that halted the Covid vaccine and testing requirements, warning that it would cost lives and lead to increased hospitalizations.
