The Epoch Times reports the United States Postal Service (USPS) has asked federal officials for a “temporary waiver from President Biden’s vaccine mandate due to potential staffing and supply chain shortfalls.”
In a letter obtained by Fox News, Deputy Postmaster General Douglas A. Tulino reportedly argued that the USPS would be “significantly negatively impacted” if the vaccine mandates were enforced as planned.
“Given the significant challenges that our nation’s supply chains are already experiencing, we respectfully suggest that the nation cannot afford the additional potential substantial harm that would be engendered if the ability of the Postal Service to deliver mail and packages is significantly negatively impacted,” Tulino wrote to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on Jan. 4.
Many outlets are reporting on potential nationwide disruptions should Biden’s vaccine mandate be enforced.
The Epoch Times reports that in a portion of the USPS letter they obtained, Tulino also argued that the “vaccine-or-test mandate” could result in a “critical disruption to our vital operations.”
The USPS website cryptically warned that services could be interrupted by “special events, or other changes impacting service.”
Reuters reports that Tulino requested a suspension of mandate restrictions “until courts can provide a final ruling.”
As the nation is facing supply chain problems and an economic slowdown, President Joe Biden continues to push to enforce the vaccine mandate he unveiled in September.
On Sept. 9, without notifying other government agencies, President Biden declared to the nation that vaccine mandates would be imposed on all government agencies and businesses employing more than 100 employees. The notable exceptions are members of Congress and the federal court system and their staffers.
Unbeknownst to OSHA, the task of imposing the nationwide vaccination mandate would fall to them.
The matter was quickly contested in court. In November, a federal court ruled against Biden’s vaccination policy and OSHA immediately announced they would not enforce the mandate.
According to The Hill, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stated Biden’s vaccine mandate order was “fatally flawed” and ordered OSHA not to enforce the mandate “pending adequate judicial review.”
The 6th Circuit Court reversed that decision on Dec. 17.
Now, the USPS is up against a fast-approaching deadline to enforce vaccine compliance and warns “to absorb what could inevitably be a dramatic loss of employees at a time when the labor market is extremely tight and in the middle of the Postal Service’s Peak Season would have a potentially catastrophic impact on our ability to provide service.”
Town Hall reports that the 220,000-member-strong American Postal Workers Union is opposed to the vaccine mandate.
The U.S. Supreme Court will begin to hear arguments on vaccine mandates on Jan. 7. Their ruling could impact vaccine mandates, mask requirements, and COVID-19 testing issues.
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