FDNY/COVID: Ed Kelly Makes Lemming-Aid
UFOA Paints a Grim Picture
IAFF Local 854, the Uniformed Fire Officers Association of New York (UFOA), has no good news for its members.
They speak of the “current situation” taking “many unexpected turns” though events have been entirely predictable: any mandate compliance deal on the table is becoming less attractive by the minute.
“The UFOA has been informed that if we do not sign the agreement as written, our members are no longer eligible to return from LWOP (leave without pay) while their RA (reasonable accommodation) application is evaluated.”
The UFOA declined to sign so,
“Therefore, there is no provision for any member who submitted an RA after the 10/27/2021 deadline to return to Full Duty without a vaccine or an approved RA.”
The City is swinging the door shut.
If the New York Department of Education experience is an indicator, things are grim, indeed, for those seeking a waiver:
“The Department of Education said Monday that less than 1 percent of its 150,000-member work force had been granted exemptions — 1,100 medical exemptions, of which 670 were short term, and 150 religious exemptions.” (NYT)
That’s a .003% approval rate, for FDNY that equates to 36 permanent waivers out of 12,000 members.
The mass application of waiver or exemption requests by FDNY members simply kicks the can down the road; a non-paying road at that.
Unvaccinated FDNY members are now in an unpaid leave status as they demonstrate the courage of their convictions.
But there is another blow to fall:
“Members who have chosen not to be vaccinated and remain on LWOP can do so for a limited amount of time. Currently the time-frame proposed in other union agreements to remain on LWOP with full medical benefits has been limited to 12/1/2021.”
The City is using the retention of medical benefits as an inducement to vaccinate; after December 1, 2021, those on leave without pay will lose them.
But how concerning can a lack of medical coverage be if you are willing to refuse a life-saving vaccine on principle?
It’s just one more thorn in the martyr’s crown.
Meanwhile, the IAFF as a whole documents 69 of our members dying of Covid-19 while president Ed Kelly leads the anti-vaccine-anti-mandate lemmings.
Leading the anti-vaccine crusaders means Kelly not only dismisses the moral implications of his actions but also lacks any semblance of strategic vision.
Let’s hope he has a rabbit in his hat because it will be needed soon.
