New York City imposes vaccine mandate for 148,000 education workers

(The Center Square) – New York City announced Monday it will require all employees within its Department of Education to get at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. And while Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city would work with organized labor on the issue, some unions noted that the sides may be far apart on the subject.

The mayor, city Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi issued a statement that all 148,000 education workers would need to provide proof of their first shot by Sept. 27. The mandate also covers employees at the department’s central offices and contractors who work in school settings.

The three officials also spoke during de Blasio’s daily media briefing Monday morning on the mandate. They were joined by other health and community leaders who supported the move.

Workers will need to upload their proof to the DOE’s online portal tracking vaccinations. While the portal tracks both student and staff vaccinations, only employees will face the mandate.

Public schools start in three weeks in the nation’s largest city, and officials have been pushing for the return of full-time, in-class instruction.

The announcement also came on the same day as the Food and Drug Administration announced it has given full approval to the PfizerBioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, the first such declaration in the U.S.

That declaration is a “game-changer,” de Blasio said at his briefing.

“We’ve been waiting for this for a long time to have the full approval of the vaccine,” he said. “We now have it. This helps us move forward, and we’re moving forward with our schools with this new vaccine mandate.”

The FDA fully approved the Pfizer vaccine for anyone age 16 or older. Emergency use authorization still applies for those between ages 12 and 15, while no one under that age can receive it or any other COVID-19 vaccine that’s been approved on an emergency basis.

The FDA does not issue a vaccine requirement, although state and local governments may pass laws requiring vaccines that are fully approved.

Across the country, in states where classes have already started, many school districts have revealed a concerning escalation in COVID-19 caseloads. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recommended mask mandates, although those have been met with resistance by school leaders and parents.

Ensuring all adult workers are vaccinated will go a long way in keeping kids from catching any strain of COVID-19, including the highly transmissible delta variant, officials said.

“The data shows, even with delta, vaccinated people are significantly less likely to be infected, which makes them less likely to pass it on to family members, to colleagues, to unvaccinated children,” Chokshi said. “And when it comes to our younger children, our defenses are their defenses.”

Neither the release nor the news conference detailed what repercussions workers would face for not meeting the deadline. A message Monday evening to the mayor’s press office was not immediately returned.

Porter said 63% of the department’s workforce are vaccinated, and about 40,000 have already filed their vaccination record in the system.

No union representative appeared with city officials during the de Blasio news conference, something reporters noted in their questioning.

Porter said she did not expect the department to face any walkouts or staffing shortages because of the directive.

“I expect our staff members to get vaccinated,” she said. “Our teachers have been our greatest heroes throughout this pandemic and showed up in so many amazing ways, and this is the next way to get our babies back in class and to keep them protected and safe.”

In a statement, the United Federation of Teachers said its members have done their part to prevent the spread, as nearly 80% of their ranks are vaccinated.

With the city seeking to make it mandatory, the labor group issued a statement saying it would enter into “impact bargaining,” or targeted discussions on a policy not originally part of the collective bargaining agreement, to finalize details.

Other labor organizations are taking a stronger tack, however. District Council 37, an American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees chapter that’s New York City’s largest public-sector union, said it strongly encourages its members to get a shot. But it takes exception to the way the city’s approaching the matter.

“District Council 37, along with a coalition of unions that make up the Municipal Labor Committee, will file an Unfair Labor Practices compliant over the City’s failure to bargain,” Executive Director Harry Garrido said in a statement.

That ran counter to what de Blasio told reporters. He said he’s met with labor leaders recently and notified them impact bargaining would take place. However, those he’s met with have not included Municipal Labor Committee Chair Harry Nespoli.

The mayor said he understands some unions may have large ranks and various opinions on the vaccine. Still, decisions will need to be made based on health and science.

“My focus right now is the health and safety of 8.8 million New Yorkers and stopping the Delta variant and stopping the coronavirus,” de Blasio said. “That’s what I’m focused on, but we’re going to do it in a way that’s respectful to working people.”

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