Deputy Speaker Charlene Lima releases statement on vaccine incentive bonus
Deputy Speaker Lima says the incentive would set a "bad precedent" in the state.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE)-
Deputy Speaker Charlene Lima of the 14th district in Cranston and Providence has announced that she will be prefiling legislation to prohibit the vaccine bonuses calling it unfair and a misuse of taxpayer money. “This mainly is going to set a bad precedent in the State because there are other unions coming up for contract negotiations. What happens when the money runs out?” says Lima. “It would be unfair to give it to one union when you have members in another union, either State or municipal, who went out and did their due diligence and got vaccinated. They’re not getting a bonus.”
Lima states several reasons for her decision, stating its unfairness for those who received the vaccine without a financial bonus, whether it was for health, safety, or personal reasons. “I don’t think we should ever use taxpayer dollars for a medical issue like this. If this was the private sector, and a company wanted to do it, that’s different. But we’re using taxpayer dollars for people to get a COVID vaccine bonus?”
We spoke with @CharleneLimaRI who filed legislation last night in effort to block @GovDanMcKee from passing legislation that would give state employees a $3,000 bonus for getting a #CovidVaccine . “I don’t think we should ever use taxpayer dollars for a medical issue like this.”
— EmmalynReid (@Emmalyn_Reid) November 29, 2021
Lima explains that although the current bonuses would come from the federal Covid relief funds, once the federal funding runs out Rhode Island taxpayers might have to cover the costs of such incentives.
She stresses that she supports state and municipal employees receiving bonuses for their work during the pandemic, just not for receiving a vaccine, saying,
“I want it to be abundantly clear that I fully support state or municipal employees receiving bonuses for their unselfish work during this Covid pandemic. I support unions negotiating bonuses for their members for their work-related performances.
These bonuses should be based on their public work performance and sacrifices during the pandemic not on whether they get the Covid vaccine. Most importantly these bonuses should be available to all state and municipal employees not just those who up to now have decided not to be receive the Covid vaccine. This is unfair to all the other state and municipal workers who already received the vaccine without financial inducements and who would not receive these new contracted bonuses.”
Here is a copy of Deputy Speaker Charlene Lima’s Press Release:
