(Headline USA) Despite promising to be different from his predecessor, New York City’s new Mayor Eric Adams took a page from former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s book and fired more than 1,000 city workers this week because they were not vaccinated against COVID-19.
Right before he left office, de Blasio implemented a vaccine mandate that required all municipal workers and city employees to show proof of vaccination by Feb. 11 or face termination. Instead of overturning the mandate, Adams chose to upheld it.
As a result, 1,430 city workers who did not get vaccinated or were denied an exemption were terminated this week. Most of these workers came from the New York City Department of Education, according to reports.
Adams claimed these employees weren’t actually fired, arguing they chose to leave their jobs by not following the mandate.
“Living in a city as complex like this, there must be rules,” Adams scolded. “We must follow them.
“The rule is to get vaccinated if you’re a city employee. You have to follow that,” the Democrat said, adding that his goal was “always to vaccinate, not terminate.”
A number of city teachers tried to fight the vaccine mandate after their exemption requests were denied. But Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor denied their emergency appeal last week.
A coalition of unions also sued to block the mass firings, but a judge ruled against them last month.
One of the union leaders, Harry Nespoli, president of the Municipal Labor Council, argued that even one unvaccinated worker losing his job was one too many.
“Workers should not get fired. There are a lot of people who don’t believe in putting this stuff in their bodies,” Nespoli argued.
