November 4, 2021
Opponents of COVID-19 vaccine mandates were out again yesterday on Broadway near City Hall. Like an earlier rally at this location and one in Foley Square, those in attendance represented a wide range of reasons to resist the shot: unproven and potentially unsafe, ineffective, worse than the disease, tyranny, and religious beliefs.
Speaking to that last point, Tom Mahairas, founder of Manhattan Bible Church in Inwood explained to the Gazette why, in his view, a religious exemption should be honored. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion, and therefore, the government can’t decide what is and what isn’t a valid religious belief. He advised that “everyone needs to write down their own personal belief and submit it for a religious exemption.” He said people don’t need a letter from a priest or from a church, and don’t have to oppose all vaccines.
Activist John Gilmore said, “de Blasio is a dictator and Adams isn’t much better.” He explained that the newly elected Mayor could declare a vaccine mandate for kids on Day One because “that’s the law.” So, he said, everyone needs to start to rally and write emails now. “Start hammering on State Assembly, Senate, and Governor Hochul. Show up and tell her the truth.”
Teachers for Choice founder Michael Kane informed the crowd he’s no longer getting a paycheck. He already renounced his UFT membership earlier in this anti-mandate campaign and had urged other teachers to do the same. “How many on unpaid leave?” A smattering of hollers went up. “Yes! My people!” He insisted that he isn’t anti-vax, just anti-vax mandate, as he’s stated at previous mobilizations. His message this time touched on the so-called ‘vexit‘ plan to withdraw one’s children from public schools should a vaccine mandate be imposed upon them.
The activists were boisterous but well behaved and the only minor drama came when a few of them slipped the confines of the sidewalk and were gently shooed back onto it without much fuss. A dozen or so cops stood by along Broadway enforcing the sidewalk rule and checking their phones. The Gazette asked officers from the 7th and 13th Pcts if any of their co-workers had been placed on unpaid leave over the vaccine mandate and they both said not as far as they knew.
Kevin Jenkins, Urban Global Health Alliance CEO, said, “grab your child and tell them you love them because they don’t know what’s going on. But we do.” He asked everyone to hold hands, look at one another and say loudly, “I love you!”
The headcount was far lower this time than at a rally on this spot in August and one in Foley Square in September, possibly due to the carrot and stick policy the City imposed. For a while, unvaxxed City employees could collect a $500 cash bonus for getting the shot and, of course, the deadline for being placed on unpaid leave expired on Monday. For whatever reason, there were definitely many fewer people in attendance although their energy remained very high.
In the 24 hours since the rally, the City and several municipal labor unions have announced an agreement on vaccine mandates that includes a procedure to assess exemption requests and to appeal decisions, as well as how health insurance will be managed while employees are on unpaid leave, pursuing an exemption, or appealing a decision. The agreement was posted online by the Teamsters 237 and can be inspected here.
From City Hall press office:
“Vaccinations are critical to our recovery and our city workforce is leading the way,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “92 percent of city employees have stepped up and gotten vaccinated, and this agreement ensures a fair process for those seeking exemptions. Thank you to these unions for working with us to keep New Yorkers safe.”
“We are proud to have negotiated collective bargaining agreements with several unions regarding the vaccination mandate, which provide a process for our employees to request medical or religious exemptions and establish rules for employees on leave without pay. We appreciate the partnership of our labor representatives, and look forward to discussions with the City’s other unions,” said Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Labor Relations Renee Campion.
Under this agreement, as at the DOE, employees who have applied for an exemption from the vaccine mandate for medical or religious reasons will receive an initial decision from the agency, then have the option to appeal that decision to an arbitrator who will decide the exemption based upon the same criteria used at the DOE. Employees also retain the option of appealing to an internal city panel who would decide the exemption as required by applicable law. This process ensures that those with appropriately justified medical or religious reasons have multiple options for their claim to be adjudicated.
Members of unions who have signed this agreement, who filed an exemption request by 11/2 will remain on payroll with weekly testing pending determination of the agency and any appeal. An employee who files an exemption request between 11/3 and 11/5 will remain on payroll with weekly testing pending initial agency determination, but go on leave without pay (LWOP) if appealing that determination.
This agreement confirms the City’s right to place unvaccinated employees without an exemption on leave without pay with health benefits effective November 1, or after denial of exemption request depending on the date exemption request was submitted.
More here.
