NYC Vaccine Mandate Puts 9,000 Employees Out of Work, Closes 18 Fire Companies
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that 9,000 city employees have gone on unpaid leave rather than comply with the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate effective Nov. 1. De Blasio announced the news during a…
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that 9,000 city employees have gone on unpaid leave rather than comply with the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate effective Nov. 1.
De Blasio announced the news during a livestream event on Monday morning.
In addition to thousands of city workers on unpaid leave, 12,000 additional city employees have applied for a medical or religious exemption, according to The Associated Press.
Those who have not yet been vaccinated are currently required to submit to weekly tests for COVID-19.
The city has approximately 378,000 workers, according to de Blasio. Less than 6 percent of the workforce is on unpaid leave.
The concern rises as details are being unveiled regarding which city workers are taking unpaid leave. A reported 5,500 city police officers, 2,300 firefighters and more than 1,500 sanitation workers remain unvaccinated, according to the U.K. Daily Mail.
The totals include an estimated one in four firefighters one in six police officers.
On Monday, ABC News reported 18 fire companies are considered “out of service” due to sick calls Monday. However, the city has reported no disruptions to city services.
“There are understaffed units. That understaffing could end immediately if members stopped going sick when they weren’t sick,” FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said.
“Once the members come to their senses and stop using medical leave improperly, they can help out not just the citizens of the city but their brothers and sisters staffing the units,” he added.
FDNY union bosses also reported Monday that some firefighters had chosen to retire early rather than comply with the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
“This is the moment we’ve been waiting for. We’re not clear how many fire companies will be closed today, we expect dozens,” Andrew Ansbro of the Uniformed Firefighters Association said at a Monday news conference, the Daily Mail reported.
“We’re here today because of a mandate that was put on members with nine days to make a life-changing decision,” he added.
Sanitation workers are also reportedly in short supply following the city’s vaccine mandate going into effect.
Last week, reports of trash piling up across city streets grew online, with Twitter users posting pictures.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.