“To be told the DOT requires us to be
vaccinated was a huge, confusing shock.
By what authority does DOT dictate our medical policy?”
– Randy Calkins, PUD Water Distribution Manager, Sewer Manager
A letter to Jefferson Public Utility District employees from General Manager (GM) Kevin Streett has sparked controversy within the utility and among the public it serves. On September 24 Streett held a meeting with PUD staff, followed by an email stating:
“In accordance with the [governor’s] proclamation… the PUD will
be instating a Covid-19 vaccination requirement… The policy will
apply to all employees regardless of their work setting.”
I was among PUD customer-owners who wrote to our three commissioners in reference to the item “Vaccine Requirement – For Discussion Only” on their October 4 agenda. My letter expressed two concerns:
1) Given the well-documented viral spread by those fully vaccinated for Covid, why are the unvaxxed being singled out as potential health threats? On its face, these mandates are simply a way to stigmatize those who are refusing experimental shots. There is a growing body of evidence that the mandates are political, not valid health measures.
2) Our PUD cannot afford to lose more staff. Attracting qualified employees has been a challenge for Jefferson PUD without this added restriction. Loss of staff if a mandate were to be enacted could potentially cripple our utility’s ability to function.
The October 4th meeting
Click above for archived recording of October 4, 2021 PUD meeting. Agenda item Vaccine Requirement takes place from
1:56:08 to 2:54:50
It appears from the “Vaccine Requirement” discussion at the October 4 BOC meeting that my letter to the commissioners might have been misdirected. It turned out that a larger question loomed:
Who is making this decision — the Board of Commissioners who are our elected representatives? Or PUD General Manager Kevin Streett?
District 3 Commissioner Dan Toepper opened the discussion with that inquiry.
Toepper: “Question, can the GM make a policy like this?”
Streett: “When we talked to the unions, they wanted everyone painted with the same brush, both unions wanted, ‘okay, if you’re going to do it for one you have to do it for all.’ So we took that as part of our process-making. And then we also said, ‘okay, if we’re going to do it for two thirds of our employees, the last one third is the management side.’ And I struggled with this. It’s do we need to make a separate rule, a standalone rule that says, ‘okay, because you’re not going to go out there, you don’t have to be in consideration for vaccination.’ If we believe that we paint everyone with the same brush, then in this case I applied it to the management team… There is a lot of questions whether I can make a policy like this or not. I think I can, but it’s up for discussion tonight… I can take direction from the board and If the board says no, there will be some relief by a few, but they’ll also be some anxiety by some who really support the mandate… I struggled with this policy… but I think it’s the thing we should do at this time.”
Toepper: “I think this lies with the board as electeds… I am not in support of a vaccine mandate as a condition of employment at this utility.”
Ken Collins, District 2 Commissioner: “The position I take is to support the General Manager, and to follow the legal advice of our counsel, and to do what we think is going to keep our employees safe.”
Jeff Randall, District 1 Commissioner: “I do believe the GM has the authority… my personal view is that we are in a public health emergency… my personal view is that the sooner we all get vaccinated, the sooner we can get back to life as normal.”
Toepper: “We are being coerced, extorted, boxed in by the state to do something that ordinarily we would not be doing…. If a neighboring utility takes a different stance on this and they do not use this as a condition for employment, we could have people… working for us right now that could cross a county line and go to work somewhere else, and what did we solve with that?… All we did is shoot ourself in the foot… I believe this is the board’s decision, and WE own it at the end of the day, not the manager, or any of the people above us who are trying to push it down on us.”
When discussion opened for public comments, eight people of the three dozen on the zoom call asked to speak. All were in opposition to a vaccine mandate for employees. They included Craig Durgan, a PUD Citizen Advisory Board (CAB) member:
“One of the things you need to consider is it puts the liability onto the PUD… Drug manufacturers do not have any liability, but if you force people to take a vaccine that they do not want, and you use coercion of taking their job away… it opens the PUD up for liability for a wrongful death.”
Another CAB member, Sebastian Eggert, reinforced Durgan’s concern:
“Are you willing to accept the responsibility for a policy that may result in the loss of employees or god forbid a serious adverse reaction to the shot? If you lose employees to another utility, how many employees can you comfortably lose and still have a functional PUD?… We don’t have a full contingent of employees as it is.”
PUD employee of eight years Randy Calkins noted that this directive went far beyond Governor Inslee’s mandate which allows for weekly testing. He also observed that the Washington PUD Association had issued a notice (page 127 of agenda packet) that unless an employee has to work in close proximity to state employees or state contractors, the vaccine policy does not apply. “To be told the DOT [Department of Transportation] requires us to be vaccinated was a huge, confusing shock. By what authority does DOT dictate our medical policy?”
Calkins asked the commissioners to “please… put the representation in the hands of the PUD employees.”
Several customer-owners urged taking a pause, to avoid a rushed policy decision on something this important. Annette Huenke commented: “It was just reported by local health authorities that there’s a 46% vaccine failure [rate]… they’re blaming that on many more vaccinations…. The safety issues are immense… all of the heart conditions—myocarditis, pericarditis, heart attacks, strokes—they are real. If you get a man up in a bucket and he has a heart attack and he falls on a line and he dies and his family sues you, who is responsible for that?… Are the ratepayers going to pay that?”
Following public comments, none of these concerns were addressed. After Streett said there was pressure of an October 18th state deadline, Commissioner Collins immediately moved to end the discussion by putting the decision for a vaccine mandate back into the manager’s hands:
“I think we’re facing a deadline. I’m concerned about being out of compliance. I will make a motion that the Board of Commissioners support the General Manager in his decision about the best way to handle the safety issues raised by the Covid-19 virus.”
Randall seconded the motion.
Toepper objected. “This was a discussion-only item on the agenda,” not intended to generate that kind of action, he said. He asked for clarification of whether the motion was intended to remove the Board of Commissioners from this decision.
Collins: “The motion is intended to signify that the manager has, according to the Board of Commissioners, the authority to make a decision on how to handle this situation. So it is an endorsement of the manager’s authority.”
Collins then abruptly called for the vote. The motion passed 2 to 1, with Collins and Randall in favor, Toepper opposing.
Who should be responsible for an unprecedented policy of this magnitude?
Our public utility is owned by Jefferson County ratepayers, referred to as customer-owners. We elect commissioners to make policy. Our PUD commissioners need to have confidence in the General Manager, however all significant policy decisions are their responsibility. The manager may have legal authority to make a decision of this magnitude, but should he? In a two-to-one vote, our PUD commissioners have sidestepped a major policy decision that could have serious ramifications for our utility.
As a small community-owned entity, we value our county-centric, independent choices. It’s why we voted to take on over $100 million in debt by purchasing the electric utility from Puget Sound Energy—to have local control of our power. These mandates are not directed by any community need; pressure is being applied top-down. The unions are dictating Jefferson PUD policy while our commissioners abrogate responsibility for the consequences?
Who is NOT being mandated?
It’s curious to consider which segments of society are being threatened with loss of livelihood, coerced to comply with vaccine mandates, versus those being exempted. If achieving vaccine compliance is critical for the US to “get back to life as normal,” why are the following groups excluded from these mandates?
- White House officials and employees
- All House and Senate members and their staff
- All who work for the federal court system
- 2 million undocumented immigrants
- 500,000 homeless
If every person on the planet must be vaccinated in order to deal with Covid, how do the above exemptions further public health objectives? Why are Congressional elites, White House bureaucrats and staff, federal court employees, all of our homeless and millions of undocumented immigrants, not dangerous virus spreaders? How is it that they are not threatening our safety, but the unvaxxed electrical lineman in the bucket—who may already have natural immunity and risks blood clots, heart attacks, strokes, or even death from these shots—is a danger to society?
According to Streett, some portion of PUD employees are vaccinated, but “we don’t know the exact percentages.” Surely anyone who has not taken the shots by now does not think they are safe or effective. Or they are among the hundred million Americans who already had Covid and have far more robust and durable immunity than someone who has been vaccinated. If this mandate is enforced, how many will choose to leave our PUD rather than submit to this experimental medical procedure? Streett has acknowledged that staff loss is likely.
Like some of the commenters above, I attended PUD meetings for years, observing the formidable challenges our commissioners had to manage in order to keep the lights on and utility rates in check. A consistent challenge was staffing. Key positions sometimes went unfilled for years because qualified staff could not be found. Jefferson PUD hired five different Finance Directors, a position that requires expertise specific to utilities, in about as many years. When none of them worked out and a professional head-hunter was unable to attract a suitable replacement, financial services were contracted out with a high-priced firm for more than a year. Our previous General Manager ended up being an expensive mistake when it became clear within the first year of his contract that he did not fit our PUD. Top utility personnel are in high demand and have their pick of employers.
As customer-owner Jennefer Wood commented: “You provide basic services that could be disrupted depending on the response of your employees.” How many more losses can our utility sustain?
Arriving in Port Townsend in 1975 in Sherpa, her Ford van, Ana Wolpin has watched a sweetly funky, diverse and tolerant community increasingly gentrify, polarize and lose its soul. After almost half a century engaged in local business, city politics, county organizations and community projects, she joined with fellow editors to revive the Free Press and bear witness to extraordinary times. For a short sketch of Ana's history in Jefferson County, see “About the Free Press."
“I WAS a lineman for the county…”
I’m a first responder for the county I have loved so much since I was 10 years old. I watched my partner get fired from his job after working the line on one of the busiest ambulances in our county seeing just “Maybe 3 COVID positive patients.” Haha 3 of them were at the COVID vax site at Jefferson healthcare for vax side effects. Hmmm! Starts to get the mind and thoughts rolling. I also did an out of town “rapid” transport from Jefferson Health Care for a COVID pos patient, I was with that patient over 3 hours and “oops” forgot to wear my mask, hmmm 14 days later no Covid……. I remember just a couple months ago before my partner got fired for not getting the jab, we went on a call for a poor homeless gentlemen that hit every criteria for the Covid-19 at the homeless shelter, in our beloved Port Townsend, we both loved our patients so much, this poor man was absolutely evacuating himself all over the floor from his upset bowels, very strong urination smell and could not even stand on his own without our assistance. My partner who has since been fired supported this gentleman without even thinking about the diarrhea from this sick person soaking into his pants and running down into his boots, my partner ran 3 more 911 calls after that, before he could get cleaned up, what is so so ironic is that this patient after checking back with Jefferson Health Care the final patient diagnosis was fricken Sepsis and a upper respiratory infection, hmmm. This is just to name a few…
Here is my thoughts with this whole 1 1/2 years of the stupid mask that does absolutely nothing for you or us. Because no one wants to really research things because it is so much easier to just follow the leader.
Certain people in our beautiful county just want to sit back smoke their THC and live in their so called “Utopia” on their trust funded lives, Really Or Never Worked A Day In Their Lives.
People that are making the real system work are being kicked aside as the problem, so you’re telling me after countless exposures we as first responders are now the fricken problem…..Really….
The vast majority here is actually ushering in utter Communism
Half of you had a father or grandfather that served in our United States Military WW2, Korea and Vietnam. All of those fallen gave you the freedom to really choose and I am and will always thank you “DADDY” Soloman Islands Bogan Ville WW2.
My Poppa WW2 1942/1946 fought for you to make decisions in freedom while he traversed the enemy line for 2 weeks wearing the remains of his best friends exploded guts all over him, have any of you done something like that, “NOPE” Bunch of you hid behind a college venture or ran to Canada and the wonderful and beautiful boys that miraculously made it home you all called them horrible awful things.
I love all our VIETNAM VETERANS till our lord takes me home. Thank you Boys for everything.
Educate yourselves: The COVID is a bump in the road but it’s not a pandemic
Home work for you folks that read this.
Research a real pandemic:
Spanish flu
Measles
Smallpox
THE COVID HAS NOTHING ON THEM
In a nutshell, this is not a pandemic: It’s a plandemic
TO: ____________________________ Date: _____________________
By authority of the Nuremberg Code on Medical Experimentation, I do hereby exercise my right to refuse to submit to or to administer the Covid 19 experimental gene therapy injection heretofore known as the “Covid 19 Vaccine.”
The United States Government has extraterritorially prosecuted, convicted and executed Medical Doctors who have violated the Nuremberg Code on Medical Experimentation. Aiders and abettors of Nuremberg Crimes are equally guilty and have also been prosecuted, convicted and executed.
Every court of law in any location has original jurisdiction (Universal) to hear and try Crimes Against Humanity; and violations of the Nuremberg Code are classified as Crimes Against Humanity, which carry a maximum penalty of Death.
You are hereby put on NOTICE that any further effort to coerce, intimidate, persuade, trick or compel me to receive any experimental gene therapy injection (“Covid Vaccine”) or any other medical device, drug or procedure against my will, implicates you as aiding and abetting in the Capital Offense of a Crime Against Humanity. I hereby reserve my rights to swear to a criminal complaint against you in the nearest available law enforcement agency or court of law. I do not contract with you in any way and expressly deny any contractual relationship with you.
I hereby reserve my rights and put you on NOTICE that you may also be liable for civil damages under various Tort claims including but not limited to: negligence, fraud (in the Inducement), Assault, Battery, Intentional Inflication of Emotional Distress, Loss of Consortium, Trespass and Products Liability. You are hereby notified of potential liability and this NOTICE shall serve as actual NOTICE in support of these claims.
Delivered to: _____________________________ (name of person on notice) BY HAND DELIVERY
Badge Number (other ID) ______________________ (medical or law enforcementm if applicable) from _________________________________ (agency, facility or hospital)
on this _______ day of 20___ at: _______________________________ (place) at ____:______ AM/PM By: __________________________________ (Complainant/You)
There is no approved and fully tested vaccine in the US. Only vaccines authorized under the EUA. Vaccine mandates are coercion to take an experimental treatment for those not at risk. The tide on these vaccine mandates is turning. There will eventually be a reckoning for those responsible. Just following the ‘science’ will not be a defense. Those responsible for the mandates will eventually face justice.
Much thanks to Commissioner Dan Toepper for not voting for the vaccination policy at PUD. What hypocrisy that those who work at the White House, Senate, US House of Representatives, Federal Court System and more are NOT being required to get the covid injection. It is impossible to know the long term impacts of the covid injection. Still, many are being coerced into taking the injection. Shameful.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said that the House couldn’t require members to be vaccinated, and that it was prohibited to even ask what their vaccination status is: “We cannot require someone to be vaccinated. That’s just not what we can do. It is a matter of privacy to know who is or who isn’t.” Congressional elites have different rules than you or me or a PUD lineman threatened with losing his job if he refuses the jab.
The last I heard was that the departments of the CDC and the NIH were less than half vaccinated. This was from an interview with Fauci and Walinsky and it was a guess on their parts, it could of been much less.
Well said. Keep up the good work, PT Freepress. Much appreciated.
It is undeniable that if these mandates were handed down by the Trump administration or a Republican governor, they would be resisted by the unions and both PUD commissioners who now support them.
Forcing loyal, capable employees to choose between their jobs and what is proving to be a dangerous experimental gene therapy is naked political partisanship on the part of the liberal left. That fact that natural immunity achieved from infection is not on the table as an exemption shows their hand — this is not about public health, it is about state control through coercion.
Now That’s journalism.
I just now heard about this group — EmployeesforInformedConsent.com. Anyone being pressured with ’no jab, no job,’ please see the link below. Join the group, find support.
“The good folks at Washington Civil Rights Council and Seattle Truth Network have worked with a lawyer to create a simple Constructive Notice for WA employees to give an employer.”
Liability for Damages: The WA leadership is leaving the burden of vaccine mandate enforcement to employers. WHAT COMES WITH THIS IS LIABILITY!!! WA leadership has quietly shifted all the legal liability on employers!
1. Vaccine Companies have immunity from vaccine damages.
2. If an employer requires their employees to get vaccinated as a condition for employment, a VACCINE INJURY becomes a WORKPLACE INJURY.
3. If vaccine injury happens, it may not be covered by L&I insurance because all Covid vaccines remain under EUA making them experimental, leaving employers open to SERIOUS litigation. This worse case liability MUST be teased out before moving forward with any new company policy regarding vaccines.
https://employeesforinformedconsent.com/constructive-notice/
It seems to me that PUD is rather spineless. A mandate is not a law, congress never voted on it. The vaccine has never been approved and the last I read title vii of the Civil rights act of 1964, as well as the constitution… oh and don’t forget Nuremberg Code… this is unconstitutional and against my civil rights. Surely someone at PUD knows this? Basic civics. GROW A PAIR PUD
Why couldn’t the PUD just require weekly CV tests? Who would object to that ?
This country has gone full-on Nutz.
Hundreds of L.A. city firefighters file notice of intent to sue over COVID vaccine mandate (2 minutes)
One in four L.A. firefighters are part of a lawsuit just announced against the City of Los Angeles for their vaccine mandate. Of the 871 city firefighters asking for $2 million each in damages, some say they already had Covid and have immunity, others do not want the risk of adverse reactions from the shot. A loss of these personnel will mean the “entire firefighting system would collapse; there just wouldn’t be enough to protect the City of L.A.”
We lost our electricity last night at about 10:30. It was back on at about 2:30 AM, thanks to a PUD repair crew. Who is going to make the repairs after the 18th….Jay Inslee?
Listening to Dan Toepper speak I was cheering. He was passionate about caring for the employees. I thought “How could anyone in their right mind approve of this coercion?”
ALL the customers spoke on our behalf as well. I thought for sure my request for a PUD based committee to evaluate and present a plan would be approved. No. It was as if the other two commissioners were just waiting to speak. To wash their hands of any responsibility for the new PUD policy. It was as if they weren’t even listening. Take a few minutes to listen to the meeting yourself and see if you agree. [Click on Oct 4 archived meeting at top of this article]
Real Journalism, thank you. Came back to see what was happening, and here you are. Again, thank you. We have to keep level heads, not let anger dictate our responses, it is difficult. Over these months those who called themselves friends have cut off communications. Had to accept that. There are so many issues, so much chicanery. Bravo for your commitments.