A labor union that represents Montgomery County government employees has filed an unfair labor practice charge against the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission over their policies for workers who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19.

Last week, the commission — a state-chartered agency that oversees land use and park management in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties — began separating unvaccinated workers from their vaccinated colleagues, according to leaders with UFCW Local 1994 MCGEO, which represents 535 employees at the agency. Almost 90 unvaccinated employees are now required to report to two worksites in Wheaton and South Germantown, while vaccinated employees are reporting to other worksites throughout the county. Most affected employees are maintenance staff who work outdoors.

The union blasted the separation policy in a letter it filed with the National Labor Relations Board last week, calling it an “outrageous move harkening back to the establishment of leper colonies.”

“According to one of our members, they moved some of the unvaccinated workers in a single vehicle together and the vaccinated were similarly moved together like a scene out of some dystopian novel,” the letter said. “How does this make anyone – vaccinated or unvaccinated – safer?”

Eighty five percent of M-NCPPC employees represented by the union are vaccinated, according to MCGEO Secretary-Treasurer Lisa Blackwell. More than 30 have applied for exemptions to a mandatory vaccine, and they’ve been placed on administrative leave while the commission reviews their applications.

The National Labor Relations Act allows labor unions to file an unfair labor practice charge with the NLRB when they believe an employer has violated their rights under the statute. Most ULPs are withdrawn or dismissed, but some can lead to an investigation by the board.

The commission defended its new separation policy in a statement provided to DCist/WAMU.

“We are committed to creating safe spaces for our patrons and our employees, where they can breathe easy,” said M-NCPPC Executive Director Asuntha Chiang-Smith. “We have been working on vaccination protocols with all of our unions since August.”

According to MCGEO, the union has been bargaining over vaccine protocol with leaders at the government agency for a few weeks. The commission proposed a separation policy to the union’s bargaining committee, but the committee pushed back, saying a mandatory COVID-19 testing regime would be a more equitable solution for the minority of employees who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19.

“Mandatory testing would give [the agency] the same results as they would have gotten from mandating a vaccine, in our minds, because if you test people weekly, you still know where safety lies and where it’s unsafe,” Blackwell says.

But the commission rolled out the separation policy before the two parties could come to an agreement, and now unvaccinated workers are clustered together with no mandatory COVID-19 testing in place, Blackwell says, putting them at increased risk of infection.

“They put all the unvaccinated workers into these colonies — into these two yards,” Blackwell says. “Workers call them the ‘dirty yards.'”

The union has also criticized legislation in the Montgomery County Council that would require all county government employees to be vaccinated. Eighty one percent of county workers say they’re at least partially vaccinated, according to county data, but rates are notably lower in some agencies, including corrections, fire and rescue, and the Department of General Services. MCGEO, along with County Executive Marc Elrich, is pushing for mandatory regular testing instead, but that idea has received a chilly reception from the bill’s sponsors.

“Our public should not be interacting with any [unvaccinated] county worker and putting themselves at risk. We also want to keep our other employees safe,” said co-sponsor Councilmember Will Jawando (D-At Large) during a council meeting in September.

The council held a public hearing on the proposed mandate last month, but it has not yet voted on the measure. The D.C. government requires city employees to be vaccinated or undergo weekly testing.

Blackwell says very few vaccinated workers at M-NCPPC have raised concerns about working closely with unvaccinated colleagues. Instead, she says, some vaccinated workers have complained about the separation policy, which has forced some workers to report to worksites farther from their homes.

“They’re saying, ‘I did what I’m supposed to do, and now I’m being punished,'” Blackwell says.