King County Secures Vaccine Mandate Deal With Employee Unions

KING COUNTY, WA — Government and labor leaders have agreed to terms on a vaccine mandate deal with the unions representing thousands of workers employed by King County, officials announced Wednesday.

King County Executive Dow Constantine issued a vaccine mandate for county employees in early August, following Gov. Jay Inslee's order for state employees and health care workers. Both orders have a deadline for public employees to show proof of full vaccination by Oct. 18, unless they have an approved exemption for medical reasons or "sincerely held religious beliefs."

"I am pleased that our Office of Labor Relations and nearly all of our labor unions have successfully negotiated the way we will implement employee vaccination," Constantine said in a statement. "With a fully vaccinated workforce, we are protecting one another and the public we serve, keeping our community safe and healthy."

Wednesday's deal included the Coalition of Unions, Technical Employees Association, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 77, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587, King County Corrections Guild, King County Juvenile Detention Guild and the Washington State Nurses Association. The executive's office estimated the agreement applied to 95 percent of the workforce employed by King County.

The labor agreement keeps the Oct. 18 deadline to become fully vaccinated intact, meaning at least two weeks past the second dose of Pfizer or Moderna or a single dose of Johnson & Johnson. However, employees who miss the window can avoid termination if they agree to begin the process at that time, and become fully immunized by Dec. 2.

The county also agreed to provide paid leave for workers who experience side effects from the shot, as well as employees who contract COVID-19. For vaccine exemptions, county leadership will review each request for eligibility and, if granted, work to accommodate their situation.

"The Coalition of Unions is pleased to have completed negotiations regarding the Executive's order as it impacts roughly 6,000 members working throughout the county," said Maria Williams, the coalition's co-chair. "We are committed to continuing to work with the county to make sure individual rights of workers are protected while we work to achieve our shared goals of public health and employment security.

Officials estimated at least 87 percent of county employees had at least a first dose of vaccine by Tuesday, and 80 percent were fully vaccinated.