UPDATE Biden Administration’s Emergency Temporary Standard

Dear Colleagues,

I’m confident most of you are aware that on November 4, 2021, Occupational Health and Safety Administration (“OSHA”) issued its highly anticipated Emergency Temporary Standard (the “ETS” or the “Mandate”). This mandate requires U.S. employers with 100 or more employees to either: (a) implement a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for employees or (b) adopt a policy allowing employees to choose between vaccination or weekly COVID-19 testing. I’m also sure you are aware this is a HIGHLY contested Executive Order that is receiving pushback from almost every transportation industry sector.

On Friday, The American Trucking Association, along with several other valid news resources, released that U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh stated, “Truck drivers traveling alone in their cabs are exempt from a (the) new interim final rule mandating that employers for large private companies get COVID-19 vaccinations.” While this statement is definitive in its own right, our State and National Trucking political action groups continue to assert the unconstitutional nature of this mandate.

On November 4, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals placed a temporary stay of enforcement on the executive order and its January 4, 2022 mandate. And today, combined associations of the Truckload Carriers Association, American Trucking Association, with other State Carrier Associations, issued a lawsuit versus the Biden administration related to the mandate. In the upcoming days and weeks, we will undoubtedly continue to see MANY efforts from lawmakers and corporations challenging the executive order and its constitutional validity.

We want to assure you that the totality of the leadership of our organization backs YOUR constitutional rights and your elections to vaccinate or not. Our active participation in our State Carrier Associations, Truckload Carriers Association, among other entities we support, knows our voice on this confusing and inequitable executive order.

We will continue to update our entire team of WDT People on this highly controversial policy and the interpretations that we are receiving, such as that from Secretary Walsh. We are proactively lobbying for reform of this unfair mandate and assure you we understand the combined concerns of our work family related to this Emergency Temporary Standard issued by OSHA.

Standing together with you on this highly controversial subject, on behalf of our Board of Directors, I am,

Truly Yours,

David S. Shelton

President and Chief Executive Officer

Western Dairy Transport, LLC