Thanks.
Regarding points above:
- Can the universities position of being a federal contractor be challenged, at least as it applies to you?
I doubt it. This requirement does not apply to the individual source of funding (and mine is a private foundation), but to the institute as a whole. As an aside, it was darkly amusing to read in the email that the university receives $300 million per year in federal funding, and therefore they own our bodies. The very definition of chattel slavery.
- Can you speak to an employment lawyer to understand your rights?
Maybe.
- Could you use the fact that you had covid to make your case?
It's possible I could use that to seek a medical exemption, but it seems like a long shot.
- Is it possible to find out who the other 10% are so you can combine efforts?
This occurred to me too. Unfortunately I've no idea where to even start. It's a big institute, so there are presumably hundreds of us, but we're scattered across a large number of departments and in the usual way in which academics are cloistered in their silos, we barely know anyone.
- Quite extreme this one, can you transfer to a university elsewhere e.g. Texas or some other state where the political climate is such that you are unlikely to face a gene editing mandate?
My current position is not transferrable in this fashion. I'm anyhow in the process of applying for a new job, so this is a consideration; but such a position would not start until about a year from now. Luckily I've saved quite a bit over the last two years, so I can probably live off of my savings for some time if need be.
In any case, I'm not terribly worried. I'm furious that they're doing this, of course. Two days ago, when the department head sent around a heads up that this was coming (just over a day before the official announcement - he did the same thing before the lockdown), I got so angry that I was unable to continue working for the rest of the day.
However, over the last several months I've pondered this issue deeply and often, and the one thing I do know is that no matter what, I'm not getting the shot. If that means unemployment, or even the end of my career, so be it. I've long since made my peace with that possibility. This is a war, and it behooves a soldier to accept the possibility that he might become a casualty of that war, and to move forward regardless.
If it does come down to unemployment I've no real idea what happens next. Which is scary, I admit, but also somewhat thrilling.