NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A legal effort is underway to try and stop a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for public school teachers and staffers, including principals and custodians, that was announced Monday by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Just hours after the announcement, union leaders representing a total of 350,000 city employees said they are planning to file an unfair labor practices complaint, arguing bargaining rights are not being preserved.
“While we strongly encourage our members to get vaccinated, we do not believe that the City has the legal authority to change the terms and conditions of employment without bargaining. District Council 37, along with a coalition of unions that make up the Municipal Labor Committee, will file an Unfair Labor Practices complaint over the City’s failure to bargain," said Henry Garrido executive director of DC 37, New York City's largest public employee union.
The mayor, however, disagrees.
"I don't understand the basis for a claim. I don't believe a court is going to see a basis for a claim," de Blasio said Tuesday. "We're in the middle of global pandemic. We have a massive problem with the delta variant, our health commissioner has issued a commissioner's order. This is not business as usual, it's about protecting our employees."
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"We said from moment one, literally in private conversations before the announcement and the moment I made the announcement, we would go to impact bargaining immediately and that is starting in the next 24 hours," de Blasio added.
The mayor also said he is considering more mandates for other city workers.
He opted to focus on educators now given the fact that kids are going back to school in a matter of weeks.
"We're bringing back school, and we're bringing it back with the strongest health and safety measures in the nation," de Blasio said. "We're going to be looking to the next steps soon."
The Municipal Labor Committee also voted Monday to pursue legal action that could mean a lawsuit over the city’s varying vaccination policies for city employees.
“All we want to do is sit down and try to negotiate the best policy that will protect the city and its workers,” chairperson Harry Nespoli said. “We’re concerned about the people in New York, too. We don’t want to see people get sick,” he said, but “there has to be an alternative if that person doesn’t want to take that jab.”
The United Federation of Teachers raised the potential of arbitration “if necessary.”
"The city’s teachers have led the way on this issue, with the great majority already vaccinated," UFT President Michael Mulgrew said. "While the city is asserting its legal authority to establish this mandate, there are many implementation details, including provisions for medical exceptions, that by law must be negotiated with the UFT and other unions, and if necessary, resolved by arbitration."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.