Up to 30,000 NYC DOE employees remain unvaccinated ahead of Monday's deadline

[madville]

10k teachers and 20k support staff. If not vaccinated by Monday they can either go on unpaid leave for a year or accept a severance package and resign.

Teacher and principal unions are urging the mayor to move the deadline back because of the potential staffing shortages looming next week. Going to be interesting to watch this play out.

https://abc7ny.com/covid-vaccine-mandate-nyc-teachers-ny-healthcare-workers-delta-variant/11043296/

[MichMan]

1. Why would they be eligible for severance if fired for cause?

[spooky3]

2. because the union negotiated for it? nt

[madville]

4. Probably addressed in their current contract in some way

They aren't getting officially fired, they can either be put on unpaid leave or voluntarily resign and take the severance package.

[MichMan]

6. Their current contract states they can be forced to take unpaid leave?

If not getting a vaccine? Who negotiated that?

[madville]

8. It's probably more broad than that

Like general practices regarding policy violations. The workers still have rights under their negotiated contracts. Lots of folks around here seem to want to throw a century of modern labor law and workers' rights out the window all of a sudden.

[Lucky Luciano]

13. I'm fine with that in this circumstance.

Deadly virus considerations >> contract

[MichMan]

14. I understand what you are saying, but isn't it an OSHA requirement?

Having worked in manufacturing my entire life I am familiar with OSHA in those settings.

If OSHA makes a new rule regarding things like hearing protection or machine guarding, does the company need to get the union to agree to it contractually before it can be implemented?

[madville]

15. State and local government employees are specifically exempt from OSHA regulations

For example, I work at a city/municipal-owned power plant, we aren't under OSHA's jurisdiction.

[MichMan]

16. Wow, never knew that

Another example of rules for thee, not for me it seems.

[madville]

19. Some states and local governments voluntarily participate in specific OSHA programs

But none are required to specifically comply with OSHA regulations unless they want to voluntarily. Now how will that play out with vaccine mandates? No one knows yet because these new OSHA COVID regulations haven't been written/released yet.

[Celerity]

25. It says resign, not be sacked

or accept a severance package and resign

[MichMan]

35. Just never heard of quitting a job and getting a severance payout

In my 45 year working career, I made several job changes and never heard of people getting severance for quitting. Maybe it is common everywhere except where I worked.

Employee. " Hey. HR Dept, I'm formally turning in my two week notice as I am voluntarily resigning"

HR "Why are you leaving us?"

Employee " Found another job with higher pay and a shorter commute "

HR. "Sure, where should we send your severance check of several months"

Employee "Sweet ! New job starts in 2 weeks, so I get double pay for a few months"

[Celerity]

37. I can only comment on what is reported

[spooky3]

38. More typically, if an employer wants employees to leave

Due to a layoff, restructuring, encouraging highly paid with contracts to retire, etc., some offer severance packages in exchange for the resignation and waiver of rights to sue.

[VarryOn]

3. Let me guess...he'll push back the deadline. Nt

[jimfields33]

5. They have to. 30,000!!!!!

I never ever would have guessed. How can New York City run schools without teachers and staff. They can’t zoom without the teachers. I’m stunned by these numbers.

[VarryOn]

7. It ain't just a Southern thing....

They're everywhere!

[jimfields33]

9. Sadly true.

[pidge]

12. It's not just a MAGA thing either.......anti vaxxers are all over.

[madville]

10. It's about 20% of their entire staff

13% of teachers specifically, about 25% of all other school staff.

[Dorian Gray]

31. Doe

employs about 140,000 people in the schools in NYC. So it's a little more than 1/5 of the schools employees.

It sounds like it's a lot of support staff, and they're often low paid wage earners.

That'll affect a lot though. Aides for kids who need them, especially. Cafeteria and maintenance crews. And of course a decent chunk will be teachers.

It's really frustrating.

The school that my child attends has 100% of the staff vaccinated. It's not a public school, so they made the request of staff before the DOE declared their intentions. But it feels like a much safer place for my child to go when I know all of the adults in the room are vaccinated. I wouldn't be happy if she had unvaccinated teachers or aides working closely with her.

[FakeNoose]

11. I predict a lot of jobs opening up in the Manhattan-NYC school system

Substitute teachers - get your resumes ready. You're up to bat!

[Renew Deal]

28. All those young teachers waiting for jobs...

Though I don’t think you had to wait long in NYC.

[Dorian Gray]

32. I"m considering it

tbh. I am a former teacher, and currently work in non-profit. But I'd kind of love to work in a classroom again.

[NH Ethylene]

17. This is why I was against a vaccine mandate.

What happens when you push people in a corner and they don't yield? You have a huge crisis and/or you have to back off. Either one is very bad politically.

There are just way too many people who won't be forced into getting the vaccine. You can't just fire that many people and still function. Either the systems will collapse or the deadline will have to be "postponed?"

[MichMan]

18. People thought the mandate would result in two scenarios

1) Those un vaccinated would be so beholden to their careers, that they would all get the shot to keep their jobs.

2) Those who did get fired would get what they deserved.

Multiple posts here even stating they should then be ineligible for any unemployment or other government benefits and driven into poverty and homelessness.

[madville]

20. And considering that only 45% of Black people in the US are vaccinated

With the lowest vaccination rate out of White/Asian/Hispanic/Black groups, that group will be disproportionally affected by these policies yet again while people cheer about it.

[notinkansas]

21. People would be really, sincerely cheering

if they would just get the damn vaccine.

[Lucky Luciano]

24. Very simple solution that is free. Get vaccinated and shut the fuck up.

These assholes are ruining it for everyone.

[FelineOverlord]

27. People are refusing to get vaccinated

We just want EVERYONE to get the vaccine. Just get it. No more excuses.

Link to tweet

[FelineOverlord]

26. I would home school my kids rather than have these monsters teach my kids

I wouldn’t want such selfish people teaching my children. They really must despise their students.

Just unbelievably selfish.

[LowerManhattanite]

22. As a New Yorker...

…with educators in this city’s Board of Ed through multiple generations of my family?

These 30,000 a-holes make me think unspeakable things. 😡

It is the absolute depth of selfishness to NOT GIVE A DAMN about exposing a million kids to this death-dealing virus. BOE has Lost almost 100 people to Covid in the last year.

Take a wild guess as to how many have been lost because of taking a vaccine.

Rhymes with “hero”.

But as is the case with any large workforce, you’re going to have a percentage of a-holes. Idiots. Crazies. Who won’t do the right thing “just because”.

There is no satisfying them. 🤷🏾‍♂️

So what do we do? Cater to ‘em? And thus increase the risk of exposing kids and immunocompromised adult co-workers to this? Because feelings?

It’s REALLY hard in NYC to NOT find someplace to get the vaccine. You could go to the eastern end of the underground labyrinth of Penn Station near the entrance for the 7th Avenue line and just before the MetroCard machines is a station there for FREE vaccines.

Sixty feet from the platform.

The folk not doing it JUST DON’T WANT TO. Extending the deadline to get… What? Another 3 to 4000 to do it puts us at 25,000 without.

What then?

[MichMan]

36. I bet a lot would love that offer

Full teacher pay for working from home and doing clerical tasks? Sign me up

If anything, many would say they are unvaccinated even if they were in order to get that deal.

[Lucky Luciano]

41. Haha...I guess I have a different view. The menial busywork is torture for me!

That said, they could do the busy work as teacher’s assistants for four teachers to apply some pressure.

[PJMcK]

29. As a New Yorker...

I have to ask:

What is wrong with these “educators?”

They’re in NYC and they haven’t been vaccinated?!

They’re willing to expose themselves to unvaccinated kids?

They’re willing to expose the kids to their own possible infections?

There is something profoundly wrong with these people.

[Klaralven]

30. Wonder what job categories the 20,000 support staff are in

Are they workers in essential categories, like maintenance workers and cafeteria staff, or are they bureaucrats in offices?

[Dorian Gray]

34. I believe it is across the board

though the lower wage workers are probably slightly over represented. So classroom aides, cafeteria and maintenance, etc.

[Throck]

33. Does this include the bus driver shortage?

[lame54]

39. Line in the sand moment