New York cancels vaccination requirement for city workers: why unions are unhappy

NYC public sector unions are redoubling efforts to reinstate their members and compensate them if they were fired for refusing to vaccinate against COVID-19, reports New York Daily News.

Demands to reinstate these people have flared up after New York City Mayor Eric Adams said his administration will waive the COVID-19 vaccination mandate that was put in place during the pandemic.

Under Adams' plan, city workers fired for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 will have a chance to reapply for their old job. But the chairman of the municipal labor committee, Harry Nespoli, said that was not enough.

On the subject: Salaries and bonuses in New York are highly dependent on union membership: shocking examples

Nespoli, who is also head of the Department of Sanitation's largest union, argues that all city workers laid off because of the mandate should be automatically reinstated. And they should also be compensated for the time they spent without income.

The municipal labor committee, which is the lead representative of all the various city trade unions working in the public sector, is considering litigation to bring this about.

“I'm going to take every possible legal action to repay these people in full,” Nespoli said.

Oren Barzilai, president of FDNY EMT's Local 2507, agreed with Nespoli that laid-off city workers should not go through the re-application process.

“We have stripped people of their dignity, stripped them of their constitutional rights, and violated their beliefs. People have lost jobs, families and homes because of what is no longer needed,” said Barzilai. He estimated that 37 members of his organization were fired or forced to resign because of the refusal to vaccinate.

They must be immediately reinstated in order to maintain their salary and seniority. They've been through a lot. It's the least the city can do.

Previously, public sector workers have won several legal victories on the issue of vaccination

In October, a Staten Island judge ruled that the city should reinstate — with lost wages — a group of sanitation workers who were fired for refusing to vaccinate. In September, a Manhattan judge issued a similar ruling against a group of unvaccinated NYPD officers fired under similar circumstances.

The Adams administration is appealing both of these decisions. And the mayor's spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday that she will continue to do so despite the revocation of the mandate.

“Important legal interests are at stake,” a spokesman for the mayor's office said. "The city must defend its ability to both enforce the mandate and fire employees who fail to comply with it in the future."

In all likelihood, the city's organized labor organizations will continue to pursue these claims rather than file new claims in an attempt to secure compensation and reinstatement of laid-off workers.

About 1780 municipal employees were fired for failing to comply with the vaccination mandate, according to Adams' office.

Adams' office did not provide details of which institutions these employees worked for.

Hundreds of other workers are believed to have received exemptions from the mandate - they either went on vacation or worked remotely. It is expected that these staff members will be able to return to their posts in full once the mandate is officially lifted on 10 February.

Some public health experts argue that labor disputes over vaccinations do not take into account the fact that the pandemic is not over yet. On average, 11 people die from COVID-19 in the city each day.