Photo Courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
City Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter
By Michael V. Cusenza
Mayor Bill de Blasio, Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter, and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Dr. Dave A. Chokshion Monday announced a new healthcare mandate requiring all New City Department of Education employees to provide proof of first dose of vaccination by Sept. 27.
The mandate is in alignment with recommendations from the CDC, which has recommended that school teachers and staff be vaccinated as soon as possible because vaccination is the most critical strategy to help schools safely resume fully in the fall. It will apply to all 148,000 Department of Education employees, including school-based and central staff, as well as DOE contractors who work in school-based settings. Currently at least 63 percent of DOE employees have at least one dose. This number will continue to increase in the lead-up to the first day of school and reach one hundred percent by Sept. 27.
Employees will upload proof of their first dose to the DOE Vaccination Portal, which allows all DOE employees and students to provide their vaccination status and to upload proof of vaccination. Accepted uploads can be an image of a vaccination card, NYS Excelsior Pass, or another government record. Submitting this information will support New York City’s pandemic response and recovery efforts, and help ensure that the DOE is a safe place to work for all employees and a safe place to learn for all children.
“The vaccine is both a personal defense against disease and a community defense against spread,” Chokshi said. “When it comes to younger children, our defenses are their defenses. This is the right policy where it matters most—in our schools.”
More information about locations where New Yorkers can receive a vaccine for COVID-19 can be found at vaccinefinder.nyc.gov.
“As a parent, I put the health and safety of my children first, always. Parents can be assured this fall that their school communities and the phenomenal school staff our children interact with every day are protected by safe, effective vaccines,” said City Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter. “This is another layer to our multi-layered health and safety strategy and an important step in keeping our school communities safe.”
As expected, many organizations have vowed to fight the mandate.
The Communication Workers of America Local 1180, one of the largest public sector locals of CWA, representing more than 9,000 active members and 6,200 retirees, promised legal action against the City.
“Local 1180, along with other City unions, received notice today that the mayor has issued yet another mandate regarding COVID vaccinations, this time for all employees of the Department of Education. This applies not only to teachers, but to everyone who works at the DOE, including our members,” Local 1180 President Gloria Middleton said on Monday. “Effective Sept. 27, all DOE employees must get at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, without the option of submitting to weekly testing instead.Local 1180, as part of the Municipal Labor Committee, will file an Unfair Labor Practices complaint over the City’s failure to bargain. Unions firmly believe that the impact of this policy must be negotiated with unions under the contractual obligations as per the collective bargaining law.”
