SAN JOSE – With COVID-19 vaccination rates ranging from slow to greatly improved among San Jose police officers, as there remains some skepticism about the integrity of the vaccine, his union has written a proposal to limit the mandate of the vaccine and city tests and to avoid possible dismissals resulting from non-compliance.
A strong subtext of the proposal is that the San José Police Officers Association is trying to stop the second phase of the city’s much stricter mandate that would jeopardize the dismissal of employees who are not vaccinated and do not have a exemption approved. Union officials fear that dozens of officers may resign or be fired in accordance with this second phase of the planned term.
The union, citing its meeting and conference rights, has proposed a plan to reconcile the approximately 1,150 sworn officers of the police department with a city warrant for vaccination or weekly testing for municipal employees. Most of the proposal describes adaptations related to vaccination and testing, including provisions for medical or religious exemptions.
The language of the POA proposal specifically cites how similar vaccination or testing plans already exist for the federal and state government and refers to this week’s full FDA approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as an incentive for agents are inoculated, especially with the highly infectious delta variant of the virus spreading across the country.
“This proposal really strikes a balance to maintain security and prevent the spread of the virus,” said union president Sean Pritchard. “We have and encourage our members to get vaccinated. However, we also respect an individual’s decision about something that affects them and their families.”
The current embodiment of the mandate of city employees determines that non-compliance may result in unpaid leave. But the union is also responding to a plan proposed by the city to set an even stricter standard that requires vaccinations and limit the weekly testing alternative to only those eligible for a vaccine exemption.
Failure to comply with this subsequent requirement would result in termination. Pritchard warned that the city that would advance to the second phase of the mandate could lead to the loss of up to 100 officers and “will absolutely decimate this department.”
The city has general plans to move to the stricter phase in late September, with latitude to reconsider if city officials determine it would have significant negative impacts on city services.
City spokeswoman Carolina Camarena said Wednesday that the city is reviewing the POA proposal to determine how it may affect the city’s plans.
“We just received it, so we will review it and re-evaluate it if necessary,” he said.
Adherence to the vaccination of officers has increased sharply after initially being unsightly, and the police department reported that 86% of sworn staff have received at least one dose of vaccine. This represents a jump from the 50% to 55% estimate that was reported in early summer.
The estimated fully vaccinated rate for the total population of Santa Clara County is just over 80%.
According to a well-related SJPD source, there are at least 200 agents who have not yet been vaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown. The source said some of the opposition to the vaccine was rooted in claims of personal liberties, but that some officials openly endorsed conspiracy theories and rejected disinformation about vaccines, including the idea that the shots are alleged vehicles for to government-issued tracking microchips.
The risk to agents and those they contact is especially pronounced given the nature of their jobs. For example, just Tuesday, San Jose police officers were tasked with clearing city hall chambers of masked people protesting the mayor’s and city council’s plan to require tests for vaccination. for entry to large urban-owned event venues, including the SAP Center and several theaters, museums, and the main convention center.
“The overwhelming message from the leaders of our employees is to demand vaccination to protect the health of all employees in our city,” Mayor Sam Liccardo said earlier this month regarding the mandate of city employees . “And we also have an obligation to our larger community and as long as city employees interact with our community, we need to make sure they can do it safely.”
Staff Editor Maggie Angst contributed to this report.