Boston city workers were gathering together Tuesday night to discuss how they’ll fight the new coronavirus vaccine mandate, warning that “tyranny is here on our doorstep.”
Mayor Michelle Wu last week announced that all city employees must be vaccinated by Jan. 15 or face termination. There will no longer be a regular COVID testing option for city workers.
But those with Boston First Responders United say they’re preparing a legal challenge against the mandate. The group on Tuesday gathered in West Roxbury and invited all city employees — from police officers and firefighters to teachers and family workers.
“People are standing up and making their voices heard,” Shana Cottone, president of Boston First Responders United, told the Herald. “We’re standing up for one another and for workers’ rights and civil rights.”
The group is crafting a lawsuit against the vax order.
“Tyranny is here on our doorstep and if we do not act now, in concert with ALL city workers, then we are sealing our own fate,” Boston First Responders United wrote in an event email.
AFSCME Council 93 — which represents about 2,000 city employees who work in a wide range of essential positions — said it hopes to negotiate soon with the city about the new mandate.
“AFSCME Council 93 has consistently maintained that vaccinations are the safest and most effective means of getting us through this pandemic,” Executive Director Mark Bernard said in a statement. “However, we also maintain that any policy related to vaccinations as a condition of employment must be negotiated with the union.
“Currently, in the City of Boston, our members are subject to an agreement negotiated less than three months ago that allows workers, who for any number of reasons are reluctant to receive a vaccine, to choose a regular testing option,” he added. “This policy is working well and is in line with the Federal Government’s policy implemented by the Department of Labor.”
Wu has continued to defend the vax mandate for Boston city workers. The vax requirement comes as COVID cases and hospitalizations surge across the region.
“The previous Administration’s policy in no way limits the City’s authority to make this necessary update, although like the previous policy, the impacts will also be negotiated,” a city spokesperson said this week.
“This plan builds in appropriate time for compliance, and our expectation is that all of our city’s workforce will join us in protecting our communities by taking every action possible to end this pandemic,” they said.
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