Police union pushes back on Mayor Elorza’s new vaccine mandate
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) – The police union pushes back against Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza’s new mandate requiring all city employees get at least one dose of the vaccine by Jan. 14.
Under the mandate, all Providence city workers will need to prove they got at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and be fully-vaccinated by Feb. 28.
According to Michael Imondi, president of the Fraternal Order of Police lodge in Providence, the new mandate puts about a quarter of Providence police officers at risk of losing their jobs for not being vaccinated.
“The mandate to get vaccinated is going to do nothing. So, we’ve already shown that whether you’re vaccinated or not, you can still catch the virus, you can still transmit the virus, there’s a treatment for the virus, but now you’re forcing this on people,” Imondi said. “It’s not necessary to do so.”
Providence Police Department has about 400 officers, and around 90 of them are unvaccinated, and need to get tested every week for Covid-19.
Since October, Imondi said, only six unvaccinated officers have been out sick with Covid-19, and as of Wednesday alone, 15 vaccinated officers were out sick with the virus.
“All you’re going to do is put people that came to work during the pandemic, when it was at its worst, came to work every day, did their jobs, protected this city as best they could with the restrictions that they had, and you’re going to tell those same people that you know what? You’re unvaccinated, you’re not good enough to be here anymore,” Imondi said.
In the meantime, the Fraternal Order of Police sent a demand for collective bargaining to negotiate with Mayor Elorza’s office.
“No mayor, no governor, no president of the United States should be making that decision for the individuals out there. None of them. That is their body, it’s their choice,” Imondi said.
A spokesperson for Mayor Elorza’s office, Faith Chadwick, released this statement to ABC6 News in response to the FOP pushback:
The City is working to make decisions in the best interest of public health by consulting with medical officials and closely monitoring the data. We know that vaccines are an essential component of our response to COVID-19, especially as our hospital infrastructure faces continued strain. As a City, we are working to increase vaccination rates and reduce the likelihood of hospitalization for those who contract the virus. All City employees provide critical city services to Providence residents, and we need to do everything we can to keep one another safe.The City’s legal counsel has been and will continue to be in conversations with the legal counsel for the FOP.
