Saturday, February 12, 2022

US SUPREME COURT REJECTS APPEAL FROM NYC TEACHERS WHO REFUSE TO GET COVID VACCINE

This is from the NY Post:

The Supreme Court on Friday shot down an appeal from a group of New York City school teachers who sought to block a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, arguing it violated their religious freedom.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor rejected the emergency appeal on Friday, the same day as the deadline for city employees to comply with the mandate or face losing their jobs.

The city is not backing down from their plan to terminate city employees who won't get vaccinated against COVID. This is from a different Post story:

The city has said that nearly 4,000 of the Big Apple’s approximately 400,000 civil servants could lose their jobs.

 Adams — who spoke as about 100 people protested outside City Hall — vowed to not rescind the vaccination order imposed by former Mayor Bill de Blasio, saying he feared sending the wrong message “to all of the New Yorkers who understood we were at a very dangerous place and they complied.”  

A different federal judge ruled in favor of the city on Friday. Once again, from yet another NY Post article:

A federal judge on Friday gave New York City the green light to fire as many as 4,000 municipal workers for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as Mayor Eric Adams said officials would be working over the weekend to determine who gets the ax.

During an evening teleconference, Brooklyn federal Judge Diane Gujurati rejected a last-ditch, emergency motion for a temporary restraining order against enforcement of the vaccine mandate imposed last year by former Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The legal basis for the vaccine mandate is strong as the Post article shows:

It followed about a dozen similar rulings in other cases involving vaccine mandates on city workers since September, including one handed down by a different Brooklyn federal judge on Friday afternoon, according to court papers.

We also learn from the Post that UFTers make up a good chunk of the employees facing termination:

Those expected to be fired include about 700 teachers, paraprofessionals and social workers, according to the United Teachers Federation.

The NYPD’s Police Benevolent Association and Detectives’ Endowment Association put their total at around 50 and the Uniformed Firefighters Association said 12 of its members could lose their jobs.

40 comments:

  1. Thank you for the summary.

    Some points to clarify:

    The whole Supreme Court did not see the appeal. Only Justice Sotomayor who outright rejected it.
    The same Sotomayor who is very erudite on all matters concerning COVID.

    https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/11/politics/fact-check-sotomayor-mandate-covid-dinner-gorsuch/index.html
    “Sotomayor, a liberal, tried during the Friday hearing to emphasize the danger posed by the omicron variant of the virus. She said, "We have over 100,000 children, which we've never had before, in serious condition, and many on ventilators."

    Here is our Mayor having a “the emperor wears no clothes” moment:

    “Adams — who spoke as about 100 people protested outside City Hall — vowed to not rescind the vaccination order imposed by former Mayor Bill de Blasio, saying he feared sending the wrong message “to all of the New Yorkers who understood we were at a very dangerous place and they complied.”

    So he wants to keep mandates to avoid angering those who were coerced into compliance?

    Too late...


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  2. For those who are interested, here is an article that examines the details of the case. The only thing that was rejected was the emergency appeal request by Sotomayor. This case is far from over.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/justice-sotomayor-rubbishes-emergency-request-of-nyc-educators-who-are-fighting-covid-mandate-due-to-unorthodox-religious-beliefs/ar-AATKAY5

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  3. Oy vey. We got contract negotiations coming up and folks are in a tizzy over a covid mandate. We got bigger fish to fry right now.

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  4. People losing jobs is bigger than a measly raise

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  5. Contract negotiations could possibly include mandatory annual flu or COVID shots for teachers. Hochul and Adams want to force it on children as well. Very relevant issue.
    Depends how much money Mulgrew and City take from Big Pharma.

    Remember, follow the compliance.

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  6. Hoping like he'll that hochul will lose.i hear she has a good chance to win.hoping her covid mandates will be her downfall.but ny has a short memory, or none.sigh...if they mandate it in the contract, maybe the contract would be voted down.

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  7. Our contract expires in Sept. No idea when serious talks will begin.

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  8. 10:58 not everyone who complied was coerced. Many people voluntarily vaccinated as we all saw by the huge lines and people traveling across state lines because mandates were even talked about. The majority DOES NOT want the next President to spend his energy on fighting over these mandates. I agree with 12:59 that we have bigger fish to fry. Go find another job, or move to a red state.

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  9. Mandate polls very well and has saved lives.

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  10. "because mandates were even talked about", should be "BEFORE mandates were even talked about".

    Anti-vaxxers keep talking about choice while trying to force their anti-vaxx, anti-mandate stance down everybody's throat.

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  11. Forced med treatments do not belong in a contract.no job does, nor should we.hep shot not mandated.it is offered.

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  12. 10:13, you are so right...

    That’s why COVID mandates only exist in a few scattered liberal cities in the US and none of the other 700 school districts in NY state.

    8:51, if you are so comfortable with people losing their fundamental rights to bodily autonomy, should you be told to move to China or North Korea? I think not.

    How about this for a proposition: if you personally think that you will benefit from a COVID vaccine that cannot stop the spread every 6 months, go for it. That is your choice. For others who have immunity from prior infection (millions of Americans), leave us and our children alone!

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    1. 938. It is a condition of employment for a select few occupations. It is not forced. Same in China. It only exists as a condition of employment in a few provinces, something their central government deemed unnecessary but allowed the individual provinces to act as they wish. Kind of like how we have it with our states/cities. You always have the choice to seek a different place to work within the nation. It is an inconvenience, albeit a large one for some people, but it is not a loss of bodily autonomy. There is, after all, a choice in whether you take it or not.

      Delete
  13. May I add that Adams is a fuckin idiot.He is not on our side.He is not helping nyc.violent crime keeps getting worse, he fires unvaxxed workers while letting criminals run rampant. I can't wait to finish my years in doe and head for somewhere peaceful-which is most of the country except beautiful Seattle and gorgeous California with their equally moronic ideas.

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  14. “Mandate polls very well and has saved lives. Sunday, February 13, 2022 10:13:00 PM”

    Live not by lies, my friend. Even DC is dropping this madness.
    https://www.axios.com/local/washington-dc/2022/02/14/dc-ends-indoor-mask-vaccine-mandate


    Don’t worry mandaters. If you don’t feel safe in the US and don’t like people making their own health decisions, you can, if you choose, move to Turkmenistan. “Turkmenistan is making vaccination mandatory for all residents aged 18 and over.”
    https://news.trust.org/item/20210804140458-ari9l

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  15. 1218. Coercion is not a choice, we have due process and contractual rights. How can you defend this madness? It’s been an utter failure and as the narrative collapses, the mandates are receding. Notice the low booster and 5-11 vax rates.
    Even John Hopkins admitted that the lockdowns were a failure as well.

    https://news.yahoo.com/covid-lockdowns-little-health-benefit-153220401.html

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    1. 12:44,

      This is from the article you cite:

      “Smoking causes cancer, the earth is round, and ordering people to stay at home (the correct definition of lockdown) decreases disease transmission," a portion of Flaxman's statement reads. "None of this is controversial among scientists. A study purporting to prove the opposite is almost certain to be fundamentally flawed."

      Delete
    2. From the piece 12:44 cites:

      “Smoking causes cancer, the earth is round, and ordering people to stay at home (the correct definition of lockdown) decreases disease transmission," a portion of Flaxman's statement reads. "None of this is controversial among scientists. A study purporting to prove the opposite is almost certain to be fundamentally flawed."

      Delete
  16. 12:18 it isn't fair to put this on people who have heavily invested their education, their money,time, hard work, life choices, etc.maybe I can see putting conditions on new workers, so they know upfront what they are getting into and choose accordingly.the rest should be grandfathered, similar to license requirements.i say this for non teaching jobs as well.it isn't right to change the rules mid way, as many would now have to relocate, go back to school, face age discrimination, etc.the politicians have made a colossal mess of labor.it was unnecessary.part of me believes that this was the plan, to deliberately tank the economy.Again, if there is a nursing shortage, why would you fire healthy non vaxxed nurses and then say we can't handle the surge?same for sub teachers. My only comfort to the scary stuff about what is coming(hope it is false) is that karma will be worse for these nuts than anything we can dole out.may the messiah come and save us from ourselves! Again, I would feel otherwise if thete was a true emergency.but if a crisis was planned, manufactured, early treatments forbidden, and removing the license of respected doctors and scientists who want to open a dialogue(many are also silent due to fear), and even making personal threats on their family, it only breeds more resistance and suspicion.
    Why were people told that they can't say goodbye to their loved ones because they can get covid from being in proximity to their deceased loved one-so they can't go to the cemetery...yes, my mom's friend.not fake news.now how is a non breathing body that was cleaned and depending on your religion, embalmed, gonna spread covid?this is crazy fear mongering! I will never buy their bullshit!

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  17. @10:58 bravo well said. James must have been jumping around his house with glee when Sotomayor the lying disgraced liberal dismissed it.

    Thinking masks help kids, you guys are insane.

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  18. @12:18 would have been cheering the germans against the jews. If these drugs saving 99.7% survival rate even worked its one thing or if 70% chance to survive, you all freaked out with these mandates now you do not want to talk or discuss to the small fringe which includes least 10,000 vaxxed/unvaxxed teachers.

    You are all destroying kids lives thinking your helping. Go poll kids 90% tell you masks have made it tougher to learn and speak, feel isolated and depressed.

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    1. 2:11 please don't make that ahistorical, dismissive comparison. it belittles the real suffering people faced during that time. you are not being rounded up, expelled, and exterminated. in fact, you're going to be alright and so will the kids.

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    2. 2:11 about 1500 people lost their job. totally equivalent to ~6 million people being killed or ~20 million if you want to include non Jewish victims as well. and then we can add the other 1000 or so that quit instead of being fired, you know, to be fair and all.

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  19. 9:38 - you say "How about this for a proposition: if you personally think that you will benefit from a COVID vaccine that cannot stop the spread every 6 months, go for it. That is your choice. For others who have immunity from prior infection (millions of Americans), leave us and our children alone!"

    Where the hell has anyone on this board not left you alone? I haven't petitioned, protested, or advocated FOR the mandate. Stop trying to force YOUR beliefs down other people's throats and stop being mad because others won't fight your battles.

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  20. 8:51, where have you lost your right to bodily autonomy? Are you being imprisoned for not taking the shot? Are they holding you down and forcing you to vaccinate? Some people chose to vaccinate and now you want to make your problem, their problem. Stop whining about it.

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  21. 754 is right. Stop whining about it,

    Roll your sleeves up and your kids sleeves up every 6 months for boosters, And don’t forget your flu shots. And as Prince Harry said, get tested for HIV too.

    If you don’t comply, don’t participate in society.

    See, nothing authoritarian here. You have a choice.

    A Hobson’s choice.

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  22. 6:46 I’m sorry if you are offended. It actually is a very Western historical comparison. Would a CCP reference make you feel better?

    Especially in light of the Canadian finance minister’s latest actions:

    https://twitter.com/cyprianous/status/1493414970976980992

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    1. 501. very Western?

      I just see someone using the only historical reference they can manage to pull out of their head. As the previous commenter said, you are not being rounded up, expelled, and exterminated. You are not being sent to ghettos, work camps, or to your grave. You are just possibly out of a job and still have full capacity to get another.

      Welcome to capitalist society, where no one cares if you lose your income. They just say pull yourself up by your bootstraps, and don't be a drain on society. Ever hear that one before? For a CPC reference, here is one - all college graduates are guaranteed jobs in China. As teachers, we would all qualify and be guaranteed employment. Now go ahead, tell us why that is bad and evil.

      Delete
  23. https://www.bostonherald.com/2022/02/15/judge-sides-with-unions-blocks-michelle-wus-boston-employee-vaccine-mandate/

    These Boston unions are awful. They should be saving people from themselves. Mandates save lives.

    Thank you UFT for supporting mask and vax mandates! What a real union that cares!

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  24. They had collectively bargained for Vax or test with the prior mayor. Kind of hard for a new mayor to override that unilaterally.

    From the article you sent:

    This stems from a lawsuit filed by the International Fire Fighters Association Local 718, Boston Police Superior Officers Federation and Boston Police Detectives Benevolent Society against the mandate Wu announced in December. As the omicron variant surged, the mayor rolled out a policy that all municipal workers would need to get one shot of the vaccine by Jan. 15 or face discipline — up to firing.

    But the unions argued that Wu didn’t have the authority to override the memoranda of agreement they’d signed with the city in the fall under a previous vax-or-test rule, and that this new requirement doesn’t have the same urgency as the city was claiming.

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  25. 7:13 you are the problem.the fact that nobody cares if people lose their income isn't a problem??as an aside, what about the help for the criminals, the illegals, the homeless?we should support them but nobody care about...therein is the issue.selfishness!but you want the doe to care about your classroom problems and wages and all your complaints?? How can people just get another job with these mandates in place? It's between a rock and a hard placr.srlfish pos!

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    1. 1033. Take a look above your head, and you'll see my comment slowly flying above and away.

      The mandates don't exist for all jobs. These are not universal, federal mandates.

      Personally, i do care. That is why i gave the example of a guaranteed jobs program.

      Delete
  26. The vaccines have been shown not to stop infector spread. At this point, this is coercion because forcing people out of their jobs/livihood is a significant penalty

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  27. Yeah 521 the party in power in China is the Communist party and it has 95 million members. Don't paint the entire citizenry of a country with a broad brush. Yet, it seems to take "fucking communists" to guarantee people employment, housing, healthcare, and the opportunity to move into different fields of work without jeopardizing their lives. They are free from living in fear of becoming unhoused and starving in the streets with no opportunity other than pulling on those good ole bootstraps.

    How's all that working out under our system with the two capitalist parties in continuous power? Seems, from your mandate complaints, not too well. ��‍♂️

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  28. 12:02 it greatly minimizes severity of symptoms and risk of death.

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  29. What if your risk of COVID death (based on age and number of comorbidities) is already 0.02% and like 75% of Americans, you already have immunity from prior infection?

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  30. 5:42 - Frankly, if you're not vaccinated, and whatever low risk you think you have, that's your problem. It the incessant whining from those who made their decision to not abide by current regulations and now want to blame other teachers for their job woes. My God, bringing the homeless into the conversation? I'll bet you don't usually don't care about them either, so what's your point. And the appalling accusation that someone would have been cheering for the Nazis against the Jews.

    You want the rest of us to strike so that we can join you on the unemployment line? I don't think so. Some of wanted the vaccine before the mandates were announced. Not even sure what exactly some of you want from the teachers who are vaccinated and working. The issues are in the courts, and we have other fish to fry.

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  31. Once you needed a booster after 4-5 months because this amazing "vaccine", it shows how it was not an effective vaccine such as measles.

    @3:24 the CDC AND FDA ARE BOUGHT AND PAID OFF !!! KEEP BELIEVING FAUCI. ISRAEL IS THE STANDARD AND THE VACCINATED ARE NOW THE ISSUE NOT THE UNVAXXED GET THAT STRAIGHT !

    https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/321238?s=08

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  32. Perhaps the problem is not that the vaccine was not as effective as "the measles", but the virus itself was more complicated, ingenious, wily.

    Israel also says this ""The committee gave the green light for vaccinating 12- to 15-year-olds, and this will be possible as of next week," Nachman Ash, Israel's pandemic-response coordinator, told Radio 103 FM. "The efficacy of the vaccine outweighs the risk."

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  33. @6:35 - do you even read what you post? The study was about young teens. And "The study’s authors noted that myocarditis following vaccination appeared to resolve more swiftly than in typical viral cases". Lol.

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