Governor JB Pritzker is announcing an agreement with the state’s largest employee union for 7,800 workers to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
The deal is with AFSCME workers at Illinois Veterans Homes and human services congregate facilities including Murray Developmental Center in Centralia, requiring they get the first dose right away and their second shot by the end of November.
“Our most vulnerable residents such as veterans who can’t live on their own or adults living with developmental disabilities have no choice but to live among workers in these facilities. They deserve the safest possible homes that we can provide and that includes the protection of a vaccinated community.”
This brings the total number of state workers covered by union vaccine agreements to nearly 10,000. Negotiations with Department of Corrections and Juvenile Justice employees over the vaccine requirement have reached an impasse and will go to arbitration.
