Bulletin 23-21 LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL PASSES MANDATORY VACCINATION ORDINANCE

August 19, 2021

Bulletin 23-21

Los Angeles City Council
Passes Mandatory Vaccination Ordinance

Local 112 Members,

On Wednesday, August 18th, the Los Angeles City Council passed an emergency ordinance with a unanimous 13-0 vote mandating that all Los Angeles City Employees must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 or request an exemption, and report their vaccination status no later than October 19, 2021.

A copy of this ordinance is attached and can also be viewed by clicking HERE.

Yesterday (August 18th), UFLAC also hosted our Monthly General Membership Meeting which was attended by nearly 200 Local 112 members in good standing. At this meeting our UFLAC Board heard all concerns regarding this mandatory vaccination policy and answered every question.

We also made it clear to our membership that UFLAC does NOT support a mandatory vaccination policy as a condition of employment.

Over the coming weeks, UFLAC will be joining other Los Angeles City unions in the meet and confer process to determine what, if any, punitive action will be taken against city employees who choose to not take the COVID-19 vaccine.

UFLAC will be partnering with labor leaders representing police officers, sanitation workers, librarians, construction workers, DWP employees, and many other city workers in continuing to advocate for alternatives to mandatory vaccinations. In addition, our UFLAC attorneys are continuing to examine the legality of the actions that have been taken by the City and the legal options that we have moving forward. In an effort to provide full and complete transparency, however, it must be clearly stated that labor attorneys all over the country have examined this issue and there is a near unanimous consensus that States, Cities, and Counties have the legal right to proceed with mandatory vaccination policies.

We are not the only ones experiencing this issue, as this ordinance (in its final implementation) will apply to ALL Los Angeles City Employees. In addition, firefighters from New York City to Seattle to San Diego are going through various forms of mandatory vaccination policies right now in their respective cities and states.

UFLAC will continue to keep our members updated with the progress of our meet and confer discussions with the City. In the meantime, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me or any UFLAC Executive Board Member.

In Solidarity,
Freddy Escobar
President
United Firefighters of Los Angeles City