SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Police Officers Association is speaking out after the city said it will not loosen their COVID 19 vaccine mandate requirements - saying all city employees must be vaccinated or provide proof of medical or religious exemption. Exemptions will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. As a concession, the city has extended the deadline for its employees to get vaccinated from November 2 to December 1, 2021.
As of September 22, the city said more than 500 SDPD officers were unvaccinated and more than 300 officers haven’t submitted a response to the vaccine questionnaire for the city.
“I don't know if there's going to be a whole lot of people leaving but there are some that are definitely thinking about it." Jack Schaeffer, President of the San Diego Police Officers Association said.
He said he was hoping for some type of compromise that would be more amenable to those who were vaccine-hesitant.
"I was hoping to have a testing option like what the county has, like the governor has and even some of what the president said included some testing options for people that were opposed to the vaccine," Schaeffer said. "There's been so much said on both sides of this argument that I think people just get a little nervous about it."
Schaeffer said there are some that are so hesitant that they may be willing to leave the department.
“Hopefully it's not a crazy amount of people. I know that it will be some," he said "Our cops are pretty marketable so it's not going to be hard for them to find jobs at the sheriff's department or something like that or going out of the state."
As far as vaccinations go, Schaeffer said SDPOA supports getting vaccinated.
"We encourage people to get them but if they don't want to get them then they need to figure out what's most important to them and their families," he said.
Schaeffer added the SDPOA worked hard to help the department get officers on San Diego streets. Hundreds of new officers have been added over the last four years - bringing SDPD's current count to more than 1,900 officers. He said to have any leave because of the mandate would be disappointing.
"We did it with under 1,800 people before so it can be done, it's just difficult to get done," he said.
Plus, Schaeffer said it's not just police officers who are vaccine-hesitant.
"Teachers had a problem with it," he said. "It's not unique to police officers that people want to be able to make the decision for themselves."
News 8 also reached out to San Diego City Firefighters Union who issued the following statement:
"Local 145 supports the Mayor’s vision to protect the health of City workers and the public from COVID-19. We have and will continue to encourage our personnel to get vaccinated. We’re proud that over 80% of our firefighters have voluntarily received the COVID-19 vaccine to date. Like Mayor Gloria, we also support medical and religious exemptions for those who qualify. We are therefore disappointed by what we believe to be a premature communication from the City’s middle-management which lacks the necessary detail to seek these lawful exemptions. The recent letter was unnecessarily threatening to workers as it coupled a looming deadline with uncertainty. Despite this rushed communication, San Diego Firefighters Local 145 remains committed to working with City Leadership to find solutions. We intend to continue the meet and confer process so that we can obtain the answers that our dedicated workforce deserves.
UPDATE:
We appreciate that the City did slow down its rollout of the mandate by extending the deadline for implementation; and has since provided San Diego City Firefighters Local 145 with draft documents clarifying the process for employees who wish to seek lawful exemptions and reasonable accommodations. We do acknowledge an employer's legal right to mandate vaccination however, the City also has a legal obligation to meet and confer with our Organization on the impacts of its decision as well as a moral obligation to provide full details to the workforce. “
When asked if the more than 500 unvaccinated officers decide against the vaccine and leave the department, would present a public safety crisis, Schaeffer with the SDPOA said SDPD would still be able to keep the city safe.
Of the City of San Diego’s 11,000+ employees, as of Sept. 22, just over 2,100 were not vaccinated. That includes police, fire, 911 services and other city employees.
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