San Diego frontline workers, families say city vaccine mandate could cost jobs

Local firefighters, lifeguards and spouses of law enforcement officers said Friday at a news conference outside San Diego City Hall that they feared the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate would cost it critically-important public safety workers.

About 200 people attended the news conference organized by the concerned citizen’s group ReOpen San Diego. Organizers said up to 1,000 of the city’s first responders could be fired or face other employment consequences if they fail to comply with a mandate that all city employees be fully vaccinated or provide proof of a medical or religious exemption by Dec. 1.

To meet the December deadline, employees must get the jab by Nov. 17 because one is not considered fully vaccinated until two weeks after the final dose.

What consequences noncompliant workers would face remained the subject of negotiations between the city and union leaders as of Friday.

Amy Reichert, co-leader of ReOpen San Diego, said Friday that the city had asked enough of its frontline workers during the worst of the pandemic.

“While we were all staying home, they were out there on the front lines — trash collectors picking up our trash, our firefighters putting out fires, our police policing — at the height of the pandemic, so it would be devastating to fire them after everything they’ve done,” Reichert said. “And many of them have already had Covid and they’ve made the decision that their natural immunity should be sufficient.”

Mayor Todd Gloria’s office provided a statement in response to the news conference.

“We continue to meet and confer with our recognized employee organizations on how to manage our unvaccinated employees,” the statement read. “The City has a responsibility to protect our employees and the members of the public with whom they regularly interact. The health and welfare of the public and our employees outweigh any temporary staffing issues.

“Vaccines are safe, effective, free and widely available,” the statement continues. “I applaud the more than 80% of San Diego County residents who have been vaccinated to date and encourage everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated so we can end this pandemic.”

In late August, San Diego became the first government agency in the region to mandate vaccines for its workers. It has held firm to the requirement despite lobbying by police unions for looser requirements such as weekly testing and wearing masks indoors in lieu of vaccination.

As of late September, about 69 percent of San Diego city employees had been fully vaccinated, according to city data at the time. The percentage for police was lower than the citywide percentage.

Of the 1,962 rank-and-file officers in the San Diego Police Department, 53 percent were vaccinated as of late September, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported early this month.

Standing before about a hundred pairs of black boots lined up on the ground, San Diego Police Department Sgt. Matthew Randolph said he knew of hundreds of officers who say they’ll either quit or be fired if forced to get the vaccine.

“These officers here want to stay with this great Police Department and continue to protect and serve you but they can only do so with your help,” Randolph said. “So I encourage you to rise up, use your voice and stand with these officers against this unconstitutional mandate.”

Reichert said Friday that spouses of Police Department employees spoke at the event to protect police from running afoul of department policy regarding public comments.

A speaker who identified herself as the “wife of a police officer,” said having first responders out doing their jobs in the community is what matters — not their COVID-19 vaccination status.

“I don’t think anyone is going to ask that first responder if they’re vaccinated before letting them save their lives,” she said.

In San Diego, some have expressed concern that the San Diego Police Department’s low vaccination numbers could jeopardize the safety of people interacting with unvaccinated officers in close quarters such as ride-alongs.

The Police Department paused ride-alongs during the pandemic but recently made them available to the public again.

Jesse Connor, president of the city’s firefighters’ labor union told the Union-Tribune in late September that his union supports the vaccine mandate, but members disliked that human resources had rolled it out before settling on key details such as what employment consequences non-compliant employees would face.