The City of Los Angeles has laid off 25 workers, including 4 policemen for refusing to get the covid vaccine, and the number of dismissals is on track to increase, unless the Council decides to reverse the mandate that requires all municipal employees to be vaccinated.
According to the Personnel Department, the employees who have been removed from their posts are from the Fire Department, the Police Department, the Office of the Prosecutor, the Department of Parks and Los Angeles World Airports.
Although Yesenia Espinoza is very afraid of losing her job from 19 years in the Los Angeles municipal kennel, she is determined not to get vaccinated against covid.
“That vaccine came out very quickly, and they did not have enough time to study the. I don’t want to be an experiment for the government”, he says.
Yesenia is a veterinary technician. She is married and the mother of a 9-year-old boy. Neither she, nor her husband nor her minor have been vaccinated.
“Many of the workers filed religious exemptions with the City Council so that they would not force us to be vaccinated. They were all very similar. Some were approved; others, like me, were denied it. And I’m in the process of appeal.”
He explains that the City of Los Angeles did not validate the signed letter with the justification for not getting vaccinated that the pastor of the Christian Church he attends gave him.
City employees are allowed to submit a medical or religious exemption to avoid penalties for failing to comply with vaccination. At the moment, there are more than 5,150 petitions to be exempt pending approval or denial. They have only been approved or denied, 400.
In August 18, the Los Angeles City Council passed a mandate requiring all employees to be vaccinated no later than 18 December, under the warning that if they didn’t, they would lose their jobs.
At first, Yesenia says that the municipal workers who refused the vaccine , they had to pay out of pocket for the two weekly tests that were required for not getting vaccinated, which cost them $512 a month.
“It was a lot of money. So a lot of better people gave up and took the vaccine against their will”.
But he explains that because the municipal government requires the test, the anti-vaccine workers have asked to be paid.
“They are not charging us for now. We don’t know if they will do it later. For now, instead of twice a week, they ask us for the test only once”.
Yesenia says that since October the City of Los Angeles ordered that all workers should be vaccinated , has been under a lot of stress.
“Until October, we were 24,02 those of us who did not want to be vaccinated. At present, we no longer know how many we are. Many are afraid to show their faces.”
she says that she had to ask for time off from work she, overwhelmed by the vaccine mandate.
“It has been a headache. I was very confused, sad. I couldn’t concentrate”.
However, he maintains that despite all the pressure to get vaccinated, the anti-vaccine groups remain firm in their decision not to get vaccinated.
In December 2021, she got sick with covid, and was delicate with breathing problems, but even so, she remains firm against the vaccine.
“We are several groups. In my group we are like 95 workers.”
Yesenia is aware that she may lose the work from her at any time.
“I will have to look for another where the vaccine is not required. My husband is not asked at her job. I had to take my child out of school for not being vaccinated. He takes classes online.”
And she ends by saying that she would like the municipal government to eliminate the mandate that requires all workers to be vaccinated and leave them free to decide.
“Our government is affecting our lives to the extent that many workers, including police officers, have decided to leave their jobs and go to work in other counties such as San Bernardino or the state of Texas.”
The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) informed Real America News that they have only fired a firefighter and no civilian workers.
Cheryl Gatuiza, spokesperson for the LAFD, said that the total number of employees is 3,752, of which the 83.98% (3,225) have been vaccinated; 0.39% are partially vaccinated (29) and 8.82% (331) they have not wanted to be immunized against covid.
Los Angeles City Councilman and mayoral candidate, Joe Buscaino called on the City Council to immediately rescind the covid vaccination requirement-19 for municipal employees.
Said that when the vaccination mandate was imposed in the fall, it was during the Delta variant uptick and was presented as a necessary tool to protect the municipal workforce and the public they serve.
“I have always believed that we should follow the science and make decisions based on the best information available. Vaccines are highly effective in preventing serious illness and death”.
But he also thinks that we should respect the civil liberties of employees and allow them to make their own medical decisions.
Pointed out that while the City lifts the vaccine requirements for businesses and restaurants, municipal workers are still required to to get vaccinated; or face the risk of losing their jobs.
“This is especially problematic with our public safety personnel, many of whom are looking to move to other agencies that have rejected the mandate.”
He added that without a clear plan on how to replace hundreds of firefighters and police officers, they must be pragmatic and reconsider the mandatory vaccination order, and offer covid tests as an alternative to employees .
Councilmember Joe Buscaino asks that the Council reconsider eliminating the mandate requiring municipal employees to get vaccinated . (Courtesy)
Officer Drake Madison, spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department ( LAPD), said that 4 police officers were fired for not getting vaccinated, and 2 retired.
This week, Dominic Choi, deputy chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), told the Police Commission that 7 employees are in the process of having their employment contracts terminated for not getting vaccinated.
Indicated that a total of 13 employees, 13 policemen and 1 civilian have not complied with the vaccine.
Near 83% of the LAPD have been fully vaccinated, 0.4% have been partially vaccinated, and 16.2% have not been vaccinated. As long as more than 2, Requests to be exempt from vaccination are pending review.
The LAPD issues medical exemptions to workers who have tested negative for vaccinations. covid-12, for period of 90 days.
The dismissals made last week were along with the sending of formal warnings of disciplinary actions against 53 municipal employees.
Of the 57,02 municipal employees, 5, 000 are subject to disciplinary action and possible dismissal.