BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

Thousands of NYC firefighters march in protest of city’s vaccine mandate

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

maylen

https://digital-stage.newsnationnow.com/

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241114185800

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241115200405

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118165728

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118184948

NEW YORK (NewsNation Now) —New York City firefighters held a massive protest Thursday outside the home of Mayor Bill De Blasio.

“We are citizens of the United States of the America,” one protester shouted.

Another protester said, “These men and women who took that oath to the citizens of New York, they want to come to work next week.”

They are angry about the city’s vaccine mandate. Police officers, firefighters and most other city workers must show proof they’ve gotten at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by 5 p.m. Friday or they will be placed on unpaid leave starting Monday.

Union leaders including Firefighter Association President Andrew Ansbro are telling unvaccinated members to report for duty and let the city send them home.

“It’s an artificial deadline created by the mayor,” Ansbro said. “There’s no reason why there isn’t more time for this.”

Blasio has been firm on the current deadline. On Wednesday, the Police Benevolent Association, which represents about 24,000 police officers in the New York Police Department, filed a lawsuit with the city over the mandate. The judge refused to pause the mandate and sided with the city.

“We’ve given incentives, we’ve given time, we’ve given voluntary opportunities — now we need this,” Blasio said during a news conference.

About 68% of the city firefighters are vaccinated, according to NYFD. The department, whose EMTs and paramedics were working around the clock in the early days of the pandemic, lost 16 workers to the virus.

Members of the department are concerned that fire departments could shut down and service capacity could drop by 20%, leading to a dangerously high increase in emergency response times. Some firefighters grimly predict that people could die.

“We’ve sent messages to the mayor, we’ve sent messages to the administration, said James McCarthy, president of the FDNY-Uniformed Fire Officers Association. “They’ve ignored those messages.”

It’s not just firefighters. An estimated 6,000 members of the NYPD are also unvaccinated, which the police commissioner says could lead to a serious problem fighting crime starting next week.

City teachers have already been put under a mandate, and the state has done so for health care workers. But most city workers have been able to get COVID-19 tests weekly to avoid being vaccinated.

Northeast

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241119133138

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Sunny

la

67°F Sunny Feels like 67°
Wind
1 mph S
Humidity
28%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

A few passing clouds. Low 47F. Winds light and variable.
47°F A few passing clouds. Low 47F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
2 mph N
Precip
9%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waning Gibbous