Jerry Dix, president of the Dayton Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 44, said the city did not properly consult with its public safety unions before imposing changes to members’ work conditions that violate the terms of their collective bargaining agreements.
He said the police and fire unions plan to challenge the new requirements, and he expects to meet with legal counsel this week to prepare to file an injunction.
“Changes in terms and conditions of employment has to go through bargaining ― and they know that,” Dix said.
Dayton’s leadership disingenuously claim they are giving city employees a choice when really they are forcing workers to get an “unproven” vaccine or face significant penalties, Dix said.
Employees could have to pay about $75 per test ― or about $300 per month ― if they choose not to be vaccinated, he said, otherwise they will not be allowed to come to work and could face termination.
Dix said many people have questions and reservations about the long-term effects of the vaccines, which he says must not be all that effective because vaccinated people are still getting sick.
“Who does Dr. Dickstein and Dr. Couch think they are?” said Dix, referring to Dickstein and Ken Couch, Dayton’s HR director. “They aren’t medical doctors ― they don’t know the certainties of this, nobody does, and yet they are forcing this down our throats.”
Dickstein said the city recently has seen some unvaccinated city employees test positive for the virus, and at least one worker ended up in the intensive care unit while another died.
She said the new policy does not need to go through the bargaining process because it deals with keeping the workplace safe during an emergency.
“It is absolutely imperative and absolutely within management’s rights to provide a safe working environment for all 1,800 of our employees, their families and the public that we serve,” Dickstein said.
The city’s 1,825-person workforce is a reflection of society, which is polarized, and there is widespread misinformation and disinformation about the coronavirus vaccine, Dickstein said.
The city is not requiring mandatory vaccines because it wants to give its employees choices, she said.
But she said the coronavirus is serious threat and regular testing is needed to limit the spread of the virus and ensure city employees and the people they interact with aren’t infected and causing transmission.
“You don’t have to choose to do a vaccine if you don’t want a vaccine,” she said. “No one is coming at employees with a needle that they don’t want to get.”
Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other medical experts say vaccines provide robust protection against contracting the coronavirus and getting seriously ill from virus, which can lead to hospitalization or death.
Health officials say COVID-19 vaccines are safe and millions of Americans have received shots without experiencing major side effects.
Dix said if the city wants more employees to get vaccinated then it should use the $138 million in federal rescue funds it has been awarded to provide better and more worthwhile incentives.
The city, he said, should use incentives instead of punishment to encourage vaccination.
The city currently offers employees $100 to get the vaccine and time off work to get shots.
The city also should pay for any coronavirus testing that employees are required to undergo, Dix said, and workers should not have to get tested on their personal time.
These are personal medical decisions and it’s unacceptable that the city is forcing employees to get “experimental” vaccines, Dix said.
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