New York City will require all of its city employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or be placed on unpaid leave, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday, an ultimatum that is sure to lead to a dispute with some unions.
The mayor gave the roughly 46,000 city employees who are not vaccinated a November 1 deadline to receive the first dose, and offered them an incentive:
Those who get vaccinated by October 29 at a city-operated inoculation site will receive an additional $ 500 pay in salary.
“My job as your mayor is to keep this city safe, to keep this city healthy. And vaccination is the way ”, he declared.
Several unions attacked the requirements, which they described as unfair, and promised to proceed legally.
The city’s largest police union, the Police Benevolent Association, said getting vaccinated is a “personal medical decision” that officers must make after consulting their doctors.
“Now that the city has acted unilaterally to enforce the requirement, we will proceed with legal action to protect the rights of our members,” said the body’s president, Pat Lynch.
Previously, the city had ordered the vaccination of teachers, and the state imposed a vaccine requirement for workers in the medical sector. Previously, most city employees were able to avoid vaccination by presenting evidence of a negative COVID-19 diagnostic test each week.
With the expanded requirement, more than 300,000 city employees will need to be vaccinated, nearly 160,000 more than those affected by previous vaccination guidelines. Jailers on Rikers Island, where the city is dealing with a staff shortage, will have until Dec. 1.
De Blasio made the announcement amid outrage that New York Police Department officers are challenging even the simplest measures, such as wearing face masks.
A video was released Monday showing two officers pushing a man out of a subway station in Manhattan when he confronted them for ignoring the requirement to wear masks.
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said Wednesday that the incident was “absolutely inexcusable” and that officers will be disciplined.
“No one will be fired for this incident. No one will be suspended for this incident, ”Shea told reporters. “But, at the same time, I’m not going to downplay it in any way. I think we are better than that and I think the public deserves better. “
About 71% of NYPD employees have at least one dose of the vaccine, compared with just under 80% of the city’s adult civilian population.
New York City is enforcing this requirement at a time when other cities are beginning to sanction – and even fire – first responders who fail to meet vaccination requirements.
–
