The City Council of New York is putting pressure on mayor Eric Adams to rehire over 1,400 city workers who were fired over NYC’s vaccine mandate policies. Council Minority Leader Joseph Borelli will be introducing a nonbinding resolution at Thursday’s meeting calling on Adams to rehire workers fired in February.
The resolution, which has garnered bipartisan backing from at least seven other New York City Council members, also demands private businesses rehire employees who were fired for opting not to get vaccinated.
Borelli told the New York Post that he wants the resolution to be apolitical. Supporters of the measure argue that Adams’ decision to exempt athletes and performers from mandates is unfair to everyday NYC workers. “There has to be equity,” Borelli said. “If we’re willing to tolerate risks for athletes and performers, we must tolerate the same risks for all members of our workforce – be it the private sector or public.”
Adams decided to introduce the exemption after extensive lobbying from the city’s pro sports teams, most notably the Brooklyn Nets. The team was without its star point guard Kyrie Irving for much of the season as his vaccination status prevented him from playing. After weeks of mounting pressure, Adams decided to exempt athletes and performers from the city’s vaccine mandate.
In addition to the 1,400 workers who have already canned, more could soon be joining them. Thousands of New York City workers have applied for religious or medical exemptions, but most applications have not received a response. It is possible that these workers will be fired if the city government decides to reintroduce their COVID restrictions, which were among some of the nation’s most strict.
