BUFFALO, N.Y. — We already know New York City requires proof of vaccine for customers at restaurants, gyms, and entertainment sites and now Mayor Bill de Blasio has taken the immunization requirement to the Big Apple city's workforce including public school teachers.
They originally could opt out of the vaccine by agreeing to weekly COVID testing. But now under de Blasio's new policy, he is telling school employees, "This will require that all staff of every kind - principals, teachers, custodians, food service - you name it - needs to have at least one dose by September 27th.
Joseph Cantafio is the President of the West Seneca Teachers Association and is also a board member with the statewide NYSUT teacher's union. He said they do not feel an actual direct vaccine mandate with no options will be imposed elsewhere in the state.
Governor Kathy Hochul is now calling for teacher vaccination or weekly COVID testing as part of her inaugural speech.
As we have reported before and with court clarification under EEOC guidance employers can require vaccines for employees.
But specifically back to teachers. They contend a state-wide mandate without the testing option is not necessary. Cantafio says, "The numbers that we have gotten are 90 percent-plus of teachers across the state and across the country really have been vaccinated. I know when teachers had the availability to be vaccinated there was a rush to do it."
Of course, that still leaves maybe ten percent of teachers not vaccinated. So 2 On Your Side asked Cantafio what could happen if there was a direct mandate like New York City. He replied, "So if a mandate did come down it would be subject to impact bargaining. And as we've said from the beginning of this - we teachers want to be part of the solution."
Erie County's new guidance again requires masking but just strongly recommends vaccination for teachers. The Buffalo Teachers Federation recently polled members and a majority would accept a vaccine requirement with exemptions for medical or other reasons which could leave some doors open.
Later Wednesday afternoon NYSUT President Andy Pallotta issued this statement in reaction to Governor Hochul's comments on vaccines for teachers, "Gov. Kathy Hochul brings a breath of fresh air to Albany, and she already is taking decisive action to bolster health and safety in our schools. We support universal mask-wearing as part of a layered mitigation strategy that also includes robust COVID testing, contract tracing, proper ventilation, and other strategies recommended by public health experts. We also support the governor’s move to require regular COVID testing for school staff who are not yet vaccinated. It’s critical that educators continue to have a voice in the implementation of vaccine requirements and other COVID policies at the local level.”
Some union officials are also pointing out that some details on weekly testing for teachers and other school staffers must still be worked out. That might include the actual testing procedures and costs as well as privacy issues.