N.J. Police, Firefighters Protest City's Vaccine Mandate

By Rebecca Panico

Source nj.com

Police and fire unions from around New Jersey gathered in front of Newark City Hall on Wednesday to protest Mayor Ras Baraka’s coronavirus vaccine mandate for city employees, which was recently legally challenged.

“No vaccinations without negotiations,” chanted dozens of firefighters, police and their supporters in front of city hall.

Baraka issued an executive order last month that required city employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or face discipline up to termination. The order gave employees 30 days to provide proof of inoculation after Aug. 16, but it did not give the option to test for the virus in lieu of receiving a vaccination after that period.

“I know this cuts down the middle,” Baraka wrote in a letter last month to Newark Firefighters Union President Chuck West. “People are very passionate about this. It has become completely politicized and less about science and more about whose side you are on. I will always be on the side of life and living. I have a responsibility to save as many lives as humanely possible, politics notwithstanding.”

Newark Fire Officers Union President Anthony Tarantino said his members should be given the option to be tested for the virus or be vaccinated. Unions previously told NJ Advance Media that Baraka’s mandate goes further than Gov. Phil Murphy’s vaccination order for the state’s public employees and teachers, which gives them the option to be tested if they don’t take the vaccine.

“We want a choice,” said Tarantino.

But there was also pushback against testing from some unions. Newark Fraternal Order of Police Lodge President James Stewart said Wednesday that requiring people to get the vaccine on their own time and dime goes against their contract.

The mayor said in an opinion column to NJ Advance Media that his order was about public safety since many first responders come in contact with people. Stewart argued first responders have been doing their jobs safely throughout the duration of the pandemic.

“We’ve been interacting with the public the last 18 months,” Stewart said. “We’ve come to work everyday. We’ve followed the guidelines. Members have been vaccinated. Members have been undergoing testing.”

At least nine police personnel in Newark have died from the coronavirus, the mayor said in his August letter. County data show 1,037 Newark residents have died from the virus and there were more than 39,000 cases in the city.

Seventy-one officers have died nationwide as a result of contracting the coronavirus in the first six months of 2021, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. It’s the single highest cause of law enforcement deaths so far this year.

Baraka has said his vaccine mandate has exemptions for medical or religious reasons. However, the Newark fire officers union president publicly said to dozens of police and firefighters in front of city hall that there were no exemptions.

First responder unions from around the state joined in the rally against Baraka’s vaccine mandate. The Jersey City Fire Department, Camden Fire Department and members from the Paterson and Bloomfield fire departments were present.

The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and the Professional Firefighters Union of New Jersey were also on hand, said Tarantino.

“The safety of these citizens are in our hands,” said IAFF General President Edward Kelly. “Everyday, we put our lives on the line. We don’t blink. All we’re asking you to do is sit down across the table. Treat us like adults. Gov. Murphy, they have a very reasonable approach to this challenge. You (Baraka), in turn, decided to run rush on over your police officers, your firefighters and your city workers.”

Kelly urged firefighters to get vaccinated in a statement on YouTube earlier this week.

The SEIU Local 617, police and fire unions challenged the mayor’s executive order to the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC). PERC ruled Sept. 1 that the mayor’s vaccine mandate could remain intact, but required the city to negotiate other terms and conditions of employment that were addressed in his executive order.

_____

Visit nj.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.