COVID-19 Mandate: City Manager Will Not Use Emergency Powers

Stephen Downing

On July 27 Mayor Robert Garcia tweeted: “We are announcing today that all Long Beach city employees will need a mandatory vaccination or be required to show a weekly negative COVID-19 test.”

The city reported that the overall vaccine rate among city employees is 72% with sworn firefighters at 58% and sworn police officers at 51%.

When asked about policy implementation, the city manager provided the Beachcomber a memo that stated “The city will commence the required meet and confer process with city labor associations, which is not expected to be complete until mid-August.”

On July 27, the Beachcomber asked both the firefighter union and the police union via email if their organizations would waive the meet and confer process so the policy could be implemented immediately. Neither organization responded.

On July 27, the Beachcomber asked via email if the City Manager, “planned to declare an emergency suspension of the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act so that employee vaccination policy could be implemented immediately.

The city manager’s JIC spokesperson responded: “Attached is the city’s memo, which describes the approach the city manager is taking on this issue.”

The memo attached was the same memo that reported the city would engage in the meet and confer process that would not be complete until mid-August.

On July 28 the Sacramento Bee reported that Governor Gavin Newsom’s vaccine order, which has the same elements as the Long Beach policy, was issued using emergency powers and that only one state employee union protested while “other state worker unions, including the Correctional Peace Officers Association and the Statewide Law Enforcement Association, signaled that they would support the order.”

 

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Comments

Mandate city employees but not the police and fire employees!!! of course these cops and firemen get special treatment because they pay the mayor and city council lots of money. The city employees that have more contact with the pubic are cops and fire and yet they get no mandate, SMH. I can't believe that these city employees that we trust with our live are are not smart enough to get vaccinated. Show how good the city hiring process is that they hire a bunch of morons. No wonder the city is in the state that it is in. I guess the city motto "Working together to serve" is just that. No working together to save lives i guess, SMH. These so-called public servant are a bunch of selfish idiots. They don't care because if they get sick, they get paid 100% of their salary tax free, until they return to work. The citizens of the LB that these clown contaminate do not get paid to be off work sick. I say if any employee that does not get vaccinated and get's sick, the tax payer should not pay their salary. It should come out of their own pockets. SMH, only in LB the most corrupt city in America

Mr. Downing’s column rang a very loud bell in my head! Remember in the not so distant past when our newspapers and TV news reported nonsensical stories from behind the Iron Curtain and South American tyrant run countries such as, “Health Minister Says Weather is Cause of Heat Wave”! We laughed at the child like stupidity of these governments... repeatedly stating the obvious while taking NO meaningful action. Well this style of government has arrived here. Meaningless and intelligence insulting actions have become the choice of this administration while answering no citizen’s questions and ignoring all critics...The Iron Curtain fell when it’s citizens had enough! Have you had enough?

I believe you and many others are "educated" on these and many issues of the like. After listening to an interview with Mitch Geserich at KPFK with Sarah Schulman -- author, professor and investigative reporter for ACT-UP 1987-'93, I am appalled at the machinations of government and it's arbitrary/selective uses of their own laws and taxes that apply to the general citizenry, but are exempted to select few politically connected individuals.
No Mas, Por Favor, Free us all!

I believe you and many others are "educated" on these and many issues of the like. After listening to an interview with Mitch Geserich at KPFK with Sarah Schulman -- author, professor and investigative reporter for ACT-UP 1987-'93, I am appalled at the machinations of government and it's arbitrary/selective uses of their own laws and taxes that apply to the general citizenry, but are exempted to select few politically connected individuals - Fire & Police department unions included!!!
No Mas, Por Favor, Free us all!

If both the Fire and PD personnel have so many contacts as you describe, why aren’t they dying from Covid? Why aren’t Covid rates skyrocketing then in the City? They’ve been on the front line since day 1 and not 1 death from either department. Instead of criticizing them, why not apply, pass the brutal exams and physical testing, then be the change you speak of.

Selfish but they leave home each day knowing they may never come home.

So...., Selfish, mean "only thinking of yourself" you don't get vaccinated or wear a mask for "yourself", you wear a mask and get vaccinated for others as well, Hello!. Not sure if you know this but many people are positive for COVID-19 but don't have any symptoms. These people can and have spread the disease to other who are immune compromised. Thats who want to protect!. When a public employee does not get vaccinated or wear a mask they are called "Selfish" because they know they can spread it and they don't care who they hurt. But, what did we expect from these incompetent cops who are lead by Lams. I say if they don't want to wear a mask, find another job "selfless morons."

You say "Instead of criticizing them, why not apply, pass the brutal exams and physical testing".. LOL what that has to do with this, I don't know but ok... Who do you think these clowns are "Navy seals deploying to Afghanistan? the only place they deploy to is the local coffee shops.. lol.. You know that you only need a High school diploma to be a police officer or fireman right? and you only have to run 1 1/2 miles right? I believe may Boy Scout test was harder. Have you seen some of these LB cops and fireman? they are not even close to being in decent shape lol. I would not use the word brutal at all lol.. As for the part about "may not come home", please lol these people have appalled for the job not volunteered or got drafted. They get overly compensated for the job they do. Regular people, doing regular jobs get hurt way more often then cops and fireman do ok.. the last time a LB cop died was way over 20 years ago, so stop LOL

Wow. Just wow. They all worked through this junk face to face with people ALL last year up till now, no deaths, no working from home, no safety of shielding from the public, and they city might pull mandatory vaccine? Good luck. Bet lots of agencies around will be happy to take these peeps! Another thing Long Beach “leadership” has found to screw up!

When can the city of Long Beach Recall this fool Garchia?
Strategically placed in LB so they can control the ports and that "they" is Biden/Harris Administration.

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