New York City cuts vaccine mandate deal with four unions

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Washington Post

New York City cuts vaccine mandate deal with four unions

By Andrew Jeong and Adela Suliman
Today at 4:40 a.m. EDT | Updated today at 6:49 a.m. EDT

New York City said Thursday that it had reached an agreement with at least four unions representing some 75,000 city employees to establish rules about how workers can apply for medical or religious exemptions to the city’s coronavirus vaccine mandate.

The development eases tensions between some city workers and Mayor Bill de Blasio’s (D) administration over requirements to get vaccinated against the coronavirus or go on unpaid leave. Though about 92 percent of city employees were compliant with vaccine mandates as of Wednesday, there are small pockets of resistance, particularly among some police officers and firefighters.

As part of the deal, the unions will withdraw litigation against the mandate. In return, employees will have the right to appeal exemption denials to an outside arbitrator. The city will also extend health benefits to workers who decline vaccination until June 30, 2022, while allowing some exemption applicants to stay at work until final rulings on their requests are made.

The four unions are DC37, Teamsters Local 237, Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association Local 831 and SEIU Local 300. However, the city’s largest police and firefighters unions have not yet reached deals with the municipal government. New York City’s mayor-elect, Eric Adams, a former police captain, said Wednesday that he would “revisit” the issue of vaccine mandates for municipal workers.

{snip}

By Andrew Jeong
Andrew Jeong is a reporter for The Washington Post in its Seoul hub. Twitter https://twitter.com/hj257

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/11/05/covid-delta-variant-live-updates/

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"This article is free to access."

[Throck]

1. I thought the unions were friends to democrats?

Now they're dictating health policy?

[underpants]

2. Unions represent their members.

First and foremost

[PSPS]

16. LOL

[Freddie]

5. Not police unions

Most LEOs are RWNJs, no matter where you are. The job attracts authoritarian types.

[greenjar_01]

6. Police unions are not unions...they're street gangs

[EarthFirst]

21. +100 nt

[Lucky Luciano]

10. I am now less supportive of unions myself.

They’re now much trumpier and antivaxx.

[Lovie777]

3. NYC/NY was the first state to get hit the hardest regarding COVID ......

the death toll and COVID pre-existing was huge. I don't understand the logic here.

[jimfields33]

4. I honestly think it did a huge disruption to services like garbage pick up

[Grokenstein]

7. Still waiting for someone to tell me which religion forbids vaccinations.

[JT45242]

8. The only major one is Dutch reformed

And by major I mean it has about 200,000 members around the US.

But RCC -- nope the Pope says go get it
All mainline protestant religions have no problem with it.
Judaism has no problem with it (see Israel)


Not sure about scientology whackadoodles but they only cater to the super rich who can pay their way into higher levels of the cult.

But religion is no reason to not take this shot/

[SoCalNative]

11. Even the Christian Scientists

have come out saying that they are not anti-vaccine.

I know they're not a major religion, but they are the ones you would think of first that would forbid it.

[Lucky Luciano]

13. Them and jehovas witnesses.

[SayitAintSo]

9. Dems need to lose the mandates... the PEOPLE are speaking ...we need to wake up on this

What happened in Virginia is a wake-up call. Legitimate science backs up the concerns people have against mandates. I am a long-term Lefty against mandates. There are many many many more Democrats like me out there that feel like they have lost their tribe. If Democrats don't wake up the next election cycle will be our bloodbath and death knell, aside from making us look like damn fools. How can we go from my body my choice on abortion to vaccine mandates? This is a legitimate question that needs to be debated honestly and sincerely among Democrats in forums like this. My guess is though one of you will alert on me for the nth time and I will be banned, like a few of my other friends who have tried to express an alternative point of view here.

My star is about to expire LOL so I thought I would really fall on my sword on this issue and speak my final peace... cuz this will probably be my last post cuz I am quite certain one of you will alert on me again, for just having a different point of view. So I'll say it now, I really have enjoyed being a part of DU...🖐... until recently, watching The Venomous debate on non vaxxers. I wish you all well, I wish my party well...

[Lucky Luciano]

12. It's not a mandate. Nobody is strapped to a gurney.

“You just can’t fucking work here because you’re too fucking stupid psychopathic, narcissistic, and a danger to the people you would encounter at work.”

[MarcA]

14. Agreed. Win the Battle and Lose the War.

Lose more votes than we gain. What will the Covid policies look like if the rethugs take the House and Senate? Support free testing, vaccines and educate. Support those businesses that do require vax. As for public employees, as long as they are not drafted they should realize they are government employees. Also agree about the alert problem here.

[SayitAintSo]

15. Thank you n / t

[PSPS]

17. "my body my choice"

Trying to equate the vaccine to abortion is ridiculous.

If someone gets an abortion, it doesn't threaten my health/life.

If someone refuses the vaccination, it does threaten my health/life unless they stay cloistered in their MAGA house with their MAGA housemates.

"We need to wake up on this?" Hardly. Catering to the MAGA voters is not a successful "election strategy" either.

[rockfordfile]

18. Mandates are in place because right-wingers have made the cvoid situation worse

Not being vaccinated have caused the mutations and have threaten Americans. This virus is a threat to our country. VA had nothing to do with mandate.

Virus is killing Americans. Not being vaccinated is contributing to the outbreak. We have a world pandemic and we now have a vaccine.

It's stupid to not be vaccinated unless there's a true medical reason. We have the benefit of living in the world's greatest country and access to vaccines.

[NYC Liberal]

22. Well, let's see...

What happened in Virginia is a wake-up call.

What happened in Virginia was entirely in line with years of precedent. The president's party has lost in 11 of the past 12 elections there. Not a wake-up call by any means.

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, which has a vaccine mandate in place, Phil Murphy became the first Democrat to be reelected in 44 years.

How can we go from my body my choice on abortion to vaccine mandates?

Because pregnancy isn't contagious. A woman's decision whether to have an abortion has no effect on anyone else. A person's decision not to get the COVID-19 vaccine directly endangers everyone around them. If COVID-19 were not contagious, there would be no mandates of any kind, I guarantee that.

Legitimate science backs up the concerns people have against mandates.

430 million doses have been administered in the US. The vaccines are safe. And they are effective. But the more people who remain unvaccinated, the more variants will develop that will reduce their efficacy.

[cadoman]

23. and let the mob override science? fuck that

We are the party that respects scientific facts.

There is nothing left to question. The best and most credible scientists on the planet have determined, beyond any possible doubt, that vaccines are SAFE AND EFFECTIVE. If anyone could be bothered to watch the news instead of reading their social media they have probably heard that.

Among the educated, this is known as "settled science" or "scientific consensus". It means the best and brightest in the world have examined the issue in excruciating detail and no sane person can possibly disagree with their logic.

The issues at hand are so critical, and the science so sound, that it is in fact illogical and dangerous to question scientific consensus on these issues. That is why our best tech companies block misinformation about these topics. It is the logical equivalent of yelling fire in a movie theater.

Anybody going against this has zero credibility and is a conspiracy theorist. Conspiracy theory is a logical fallacy and as you are probably well aware, you will be banned from social media for endorsing and supporting dangerous anti-vax, anti-science, pro-racist MISINFORMATION.

And I am not remotely worried about VA. It was expected. Mandates and science won out and in CA and NJ and we will continue to stand behind mandates as the party of science and safety.

[NurseJackie]

19. They should be forced to wear a scarlet "AV" so that their colleagues...

... will know to keep their distance.

[marie999]

20. No vaccine, no work.

[FakeNoose]

24. This is NOT a win ... for anybody

Anyone who is foolish enough to go out in public unvaccinated - and probably unmasked as well - is playing Russian roulette with their own life/health plus that of every co-worker.

The people of New York City saw this plague tragedy almost a year before everyone else, and yet these guys STILL think Covid is a hoax? They STILL think vaccination is unnecessary? Oh my God they are stupid. Maybe a small percentage are unable to take the vaccine because of co-morbidities. But the bulk are just stupid ChumpHumpers and they have no other reason.