NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Department of Education officials on Monday announced they had reached an agreement with New York City's largest public employee union regarding a vaccine mandate for school workers.
According to District Council 37 (DC 37), members who have not provided proof of at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine will have the option to resign or take a leave of absence beginning Monday. They will have until Oct. 29 to make a decision.
Those who wish to apply for a medical or religious exemption must also do so by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 5.
The agreement comes after weeks of negotiations, including a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court.
"This fight has always been about the right of individuals to make their own medical decisions without fear of retribution in the workplace," said Henry Garrido, executive director of DC 37, AFSCME. "Very few of our members remain unvaccinated, but for those who do, we do not believe their jobs should be on the line. This deal strikes the balance between public safety and fairness."
City Councilman Mark Levine, who chairs the Council's health committee, is in support of the deal and said having DOE staffers vaccinated is crucial to protecting schools.
"To have every adult in classrooms and every other venue in school buildings vaccinated, is the single most important thing that we can do to protect children," he told WCBS 880.
Under the agreement, if a teacher does not get vaccinated and chooses to resign or take a leave of absence, they will be able to keep their health benefits through September 2022.
"I think this is a fair agreement that does allow people who are not yet ready to be vaccinated the opportunity to remain employed but go off payroll," Levine said.
As of Sunday, DC 37 said 93% of its nearly 20,000 DOE employees had provided proof of at least one dose of a vaccine. The union stressed that the number is much greater than the 68% it recorded at the beginning of September.
