
WASHINGTON, DC — Following its joining of a multi-trade association lawsuit against the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for its COVID-19 employer-based vaccination and testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) released a survey of distributors of all sizes regarding the impact of the OSHA ETS. The survey finds an overwhelming majority support the legal challenge and warn of significant job loss. The survey respondents include members and non-members.
Hoplin
WATCH - 5 With ID: Eric Hoplin on NAW's Approach to Pandemic-Era Distribution Challenges (published Oct. 6)
Key Findings
- 87% of distributors surveyed support a legal challenge to the OSHA ETS
- Anonymized responses on how the OSHA ETS will impact distributors:
- “The mandate will force us to choose between staying in business with long-term, skilled employees or reducing our capacity to match remaining employees.”
- One distributor reports “we would lose 10-20% of our workforce, which would cripple us.”
- “We strongly encourage vaccinations, but the realities of the workforce are that this will have severe unintended negative consequences for supply chains nationwide.”
- Another distributor reports it will “cause many employees to leave and go work for smaller companies not subject to the mandate”
- “In this employment climate, we can't afford to lose any employees. We'd lose several high value people.”
- One reports “while we agree that the vaccine is critical to eradicate the virus” the OSHA ETS will cause “employees will walk off the job”
- “The labor market is extremely tight, and we already can't fill all of our open positions. Losing existing employees due to these rules would make an already difficult hiring environment almost impossible.”