GFT fielding complaints from GovGuam employees opposing vaccine mandate

A number of Government of Guam employees expressed their concerns to the Guam Federation of Teachers about the governor's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for executive branch employees.
KUAM's Isaiah Aguon has this report...


In early August, Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero ordered mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for executive branch employees, or the workers would be subject to disciplinary action and or have to submit weekly negative COVID test results.

Since then, the Guam Federation of Teachers or GFT has received an overwhelming response of complaints from a lot of GovGuam employees about Executive Order 2021-17.

GFT is a union that represents Government of Guam employees to include employees from the judicial branch by voicing their concerns.

GFT Field Representative Robert Koss said the non-profit organization has received complaints not only from teachers but employees from all three branches of government.

Although most members of the medical community are in favor of the governor's vaccine mandate, Koss said a doctor has voiced that he isn't in support of the order.

"And that doctor informed me that he was opposed to these forced vaccinations because doctors aren't allowed to force medical treatment on their clients," he said. "You can't ... somebody into taking some sort of a medical treatment even to include a vaccine. And so ethically from a doctor's perspective, he felt that what is happening here is very wrong. And that he had a duty and obligation as a doctor to oppose giving people vaccinations who he felt were."

Koss said that a lot of the complaints show that the reason why most residents are not getting vaccinated is that they're scared for medical reasons and that there are no studies that display the long-term side effects.

He said that if Gov. Leon Guerrero gave employees an opportunity to share their input about the mandate most employees would not be against the enforcement of the vaccination mandate.

"But had the governor maybe given up some of her power and allowed the people to participate in the policy I would think there would be less opposition," he said. "To what's going on right now."

Koss shares what the next move is for the organization.

"I think the underlying theme for the freedom to choose seems to be the message that's easiest for us to support because that allows everyone the right to choose to get their vaccine and if they choose not to then it looks like there may be consequences," he said.

For more information on the union's mission, visit their website at gftunion.com.