The power of unions to bargain over workplace health measures is at stake as the Massachusetts high court decides whether to allow a Covid-19 vaccine mandate for city workers to proceed.

If the city of Boston is allowed to compel vaccination, it could be a sea change for the kinds of decisions public employers can make without first bargaining with unions. Courts in the state have typically determined that public employers must bargain over matters of worker health and safety before implementing any decisions.

A decision in the city’s favor “could water down the union’s ability to have a say over its members’ terms and conditions of employment before such policies are implemented,” said Dennis Coyne, an attorney who represents unions at McDonald Lamond Canzoneri.

Other scholars in labor and health law say the scope of the decision will be tailored to the narrow circumstances of the pandemic.

Still, the case could be used as precedent for public employers to require treatments beyond vaccination. “If they can compel a vaccine with a minimal obligation, I don’t see why they couldn’t compel a seasonal flu pill,” Coyne said.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court will hear oral arguments on Friday to decide whether a lower court was right to stop Boston Mayor Michelle Wu from enforcing a vaccine mandate on unionized firefighters, police officers, and detectives. The...

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