"NY City Workers for Choice" Presser : Let Us Work!

 Sept 9. 2022;  NY Workers for Choice held a press conference with the bi-partisan Common Sense Caucus on the steps of NY City Hall. Workers for Choice represents all New York workers who’ve been fired or banned for declining covid vaccination. … Thousands of NYC Workers have been fired & banned from their jobs for declining the covid shot. WORKERS ARE ESSENTIAL for a strong economy: Let Us WORK!

NY Workers for Choice held a press conference with the bi-partisan Common Sense Caucus … After, at 1 pm, testimony was given inside City Hall regarding vaccine mandates and city worker shortages. Workers for Choice represents all New York workers who’ve been fired or banned for declining covid vaccination. … Thousands of NYC Workers have been fired & banned from their jobs for declining the covid shot.

.Council members Joe Borelli, Vickie Paladino, Joann Ariola, Bob Holden and David Carr were all present at the press conference. Inna Vernikov was unable to attend but she did have a staff member address the press conference. FDNY: Sophy Medina ,  Bernacet Mejia; Teachers for Choice, Joy Amanda ; UFA vice president Robert Eustace showed up and spoke in support of fired firefighters. Councilman Robt Holden laid out why he believes the city does not need a municipal vaccine mandate anymore. “We’re not in 2020, we’re not in 2021, the city should get back to normal,” he said. “The city should lift everything.” [NY Daily News]

FLICKR slide show

 Speaker 1 – Councilman Joe Borelli:  CDC guidelines say you can no longer discriminate between vax and un-vaxed. The city’s response should be to ease those restrictions that left the city UNDERSTAFFED on many levels: teachers, firefighters, police. sanitation.

Representing teachers for choice: Joy Amanda, today 365 days since her termination.

Court officer, Chris Sperber, running for State Assembly, District 11. . Court Officer for the New York State Court System Fired for no vax.

 Sophy Medina marine corp vet and FDNY. When will Mayor Adams fire Dr. Vasan and put an end these mandates.

Bernacet Mejia,  a female firefighter, was orced to retire. Worked for NYFD 22 years.  Denied religious exemption, her civil rights violated. ( he was emotional)

Police officer born raised in Albania. 16 yrs ago came to US. Valued freedom of speech.

Council member, Joann Ariola.  Teachers, essential workers, NYPD, FDNY: pre-vaccine they never stopped working. Many did not want to submit to the forced vax. Referring to new mayor’s administration, new health commissioner, she says they are willing to listen. CDC now admits natural immunity which  is just as good as vax in fight against covid.

Video Part 1: Councilman Borelli of Commonsense Caucus … begins the presser; 3:09 Teachers for Choice, Joy Amanda; 5:38, FDNY, Sophy Medina and at 6:28, Bernacet Mejia( sp); 8:02, councilwoman, Joann Ariola (11:16- end Part 1]

Councilman Robert F. Holden said,  Mr Mayor: time to put every New Yorker back to work. Mandates were  de Blasio’s creations.  It’s a shame to carry them forth. This is not 2020. CDC says covid is not a serious threat of illness or death. Health commissioner is ignoring the CDC. We need to go back to NORMAL. Back to work. We need the courage to stand up.

Councilmember Vicky Paladino. I started this fight a year ago. Never thought it would go this far. People have lost their jobs. Leave without pay. It’s now 2022. Time to put people back to work. In 2020. the police/fire department  were out of the streets working. New CDC guidelines says it’s TIME to get back to normal.

Councilmember David Carr: Vax mandate was NEVER necessary. No one should be punished for personal medical decision. NY is supposed to be a labor friendly town. . The mandates need to end. They should never have started. Travesty. Should have ended months ago

Daniel….  spoke instead of Councilwoman Inna Vernikov . He said termination of employees unvaxed must end immediately.

UFA vice president Robert Eustace — mentioned 9-11 in 2 days. Pointed out there was not enough testing of vaccine. Common sense is “get back to work”.

Reporter CBS asked questions: only NY – drs heatlj commison- forced vax mandates. how many termininated- Michael Kane answered. 400-500.  want job back must be vaxed ( blk man) woman – nypd- lots are retiring.

Video Part 2: – 00:22 Councilman Robt Holden; 2:40, Councilwoman Vicky Paladino; 5:13, Councilman David Carr; UFA VP, Robt Eustace; 9:18, CBS Reporter asks two questions, followed by statements from protestors in response. [12:47- end Part 2]

So many sirens thru the whole un-amplified presser that I was unable to post a view speakers: Court officer, Chris Sperber, running for State Assembly, District 11, an NYPD officer born and raised in Albania and Daniel…. who spoke for councilwoman Inna Vernikov.

Later, in the City Council Labor Meeting, forced to retire FDNY Capt. Brendan Fogarty railed against the vaccine mandates.

The following Council Members participate in this Common Cause Caucus:

A quartet of conservative City Council members turned a hearing on the municipal government’s soaring vacancy rates into an anti-vaccine mandate spectacle Friday amid buzz that Mayor Adams could be on the brink of peeling back some of New York’s remaining coronavirus restrictions.

“We’re not in 2020, we’re not in 2021, the city should get back to normal,” he said. “The city should lift everything.”

Despite their focus on the mandate, only 1,761 city employees had gotten fired for refusing to get vaccinated as of Aug. 30 — a fraction of the more than 330,000 posts across all municipal agencies, according to data from the mayor’s office. Another 583 unvaccinated workers remain on unpaid leave while waiting on the city to review their applications for exemptions to the mandate, the data shows.

The hearing in the Council’s Civil Service and Labor Committee featured testimony from members of Adams’ administration on what they’re doing to improve the city government’s job vacancy rate, which stands at 8.3% — more than five times higher than pre-pandemic levels. [NY Daily News]

.UPDATE:

“As of July, more than 1,750 city workers were fired for not getting the COVID-19 vaccine — including at least 36 from the NYPD.A spokesman from the city Law Department said: “A court has previously upheld the NYPD’s reasonable accommodation process, ruling it complies with all applicable laws. Both the NYPD and a citywide appeals panel carefully reviewed this officer’s accommodation request. The city is reviewing this decision and is considering its options.The NYPD and City Hall deferred comment to the Law Department” [NY POST]

Mayor Adams END these illegal mandates. 

LET US WORK!

[Where indicated, pictures and videos property of Pamela Hall-VSB]