On the surface, the Biden administration will tell you that everyone loves the idea of a vaccine mandate. The public generally supports the idea, and it will make everyone healthier. The truth, however, which is playing out across the country, is that President Biden’s vaccine mandate is causing havoc and destruction within public workforces from the coasts of Maine to city streets in Seattle. Police departments, fire departments, and public school teachers are on the verge of mass layoffs and larger than usual numbers of employees quitting their jobs over mandatory Covid vaccinations.
In the city of Seattle, the situation is so dire right now that upwards of 16% of the available uniformed police officers in the department are slated to be let go in the coming days if they don’t show proof of Covid-19 vaccination:
Seattle’s COVID-19 vaccine deadline is Oct. 18, which is in line with the state’s mandate. As of Tuesday, data from SPD shows 84% of officers have submitted their vaccine information.
Less than 100 have filed for an exemption, but 214 still have not done either, which is why the stage 3 plan is in place.
On Oct. 1, SPD Chief Adrian Diaz sent a letter to staff urging officers to get vaccinated and turn in their vaccine verification to avoid a “disruption to unit of assignments.”
This has resulted in a state of emergency for the department which would be forced to move detectives and other non-uniformed officers into positions where they will be responsible for answering 911 emergency calls and responding accordingly. The end result will be longer wait times for citizens requesting police help and a generally more dangerous atmosphere in the city of Seattle.
The city of Chicago is facing a similar situation, with a Friday deadline for officers to provide proof of vaccination or be placed on unpaid leave. The union representing the Chicago PD has encouraged officers refusing the vaccine to hold tight, which is setting up a showdown with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot:
But the head of the Chicago branch of the Fraternal Order of Police, John Catanzara, urged members of the union in a video message this week to “hold the line.”
He told officers not to submit their vaccination statuses, and instead to flood the city with exemption requests on Thursday.
“Submit those all on Thursday, give them everything at one time, and that’s it,” he said. “Do not fill out the portal information,” he added, referring to the reporting of vaccination statuses to the city.
Officers and other city employees who fail to report their vaccination status by Friday will “be placed in a non-disciplinary, no pay status,” according to Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office.
Who blinks first? The Mayor’s office or the Chicago Police Department? Will the Mayor really take hundreds of officers off the street on Friday over their Covid vaccination status in a city with overwhelming gun violence?
With major urban areas poised to impose vaccine mandates on their public employees, many police and firefighters are leaving their city jobs and heading to rural areas where their rights are respected and their work is appreciated. Los Angeles is another major city facing the same man-made crisis:
In some cities across the country, a considerable percentage of police and fire department employees face being fired or sent home without pay for refusing to cooperate with their city’s fast-approaching COVID-19 vaccine deadline.
In Los Angeles, 895 city fire personnel, a majority firefighters, have signed an intent to sue the city of Los Angeles if they are terminated without due process for not being vaccinated by the Oct. 19 deadline.
The growing list of fire fighters threaten to sue now represents about a quarter of the department of 3,700 employees.
Ultimately, these cities will have to decide if a vaccination rate of 80% or more of their police and fire departments is good enough to avoid mass layoffs or terminations. With city services, especially law enforcement, reeling due to skyrocketing criminal activity, it seems absurd that these municipalities would consider firing some of the most dedicated and giving public servants they have.
Fire departments also include EMTs and other healthcare personnel meaning there could be fewer available in the coming weeks if cities decide to follow through and terminate workers refusing to comply with mandatory vaccination.
This is the law of unintended (or maybe it’s intended) consequences in action for President Biden’s nationwide employer vaccine mandate. With no accommodation for natural immunity and difficulty obtaining a medical or religious exemption in most cases, many public workers feel betrayed by their city governments.
As one healthcare worker so rightly put it, “in 2020 we were heroes, in 2021 we’re being called replaceable if we don’t comply.”
A shameful situation in which the general public will be the one left feeling the brunt of city services being decimated by the decision to run public health like a political campaign.
