New York City set to fire 3,000 staff for defying vaccine mandate
City workers gather to protest against Covid-19 vaccine
NewYorkCitywas poised to sack roughly3,000municipal workers on Friday for failing to meet a deadline to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
The expected dismissals come amid growing discontent in North America against coronavirus restrictions and as states unilaterally lift mask mandates.
NewYorkrequires allcityemployees, including police, firefighters and teachers, to receive at least one dose of avaccineunder orders passed by former mayor Bill de Blasio last year.
"We're not firing them. People are quitting," his successor, Eric Adams, said on Thursday.
"The responsibility is clear. We said it: if you're hired, if you get this job, you have to be vaccinated. If you are not following the rules, you are making that decision," he added.
Like mandatory mask-wearing, mandatory vaccinations have been a controversial political issue in America, with Republican-led Texas going as far as banning them.
Hundreds of workers who opposeNewYork'svaccinerequirement were due to march onCityHall in Manhattan on Friday.
Approximately 95 percent of thecity's municipal workforce has received at least one dose of avaccine.
The3,000number represents less than one percent of the Big Apple's 370,000municipal workers.
Several thousand others remain unvaccinated but have applied for either medical or religious exemptions to avoid losing their jobs.
Friday's deadline comes afterNewYorkstate let an indoor maskmandateexpire on Thursday.
Several other states, including California,NewJersey and Massachusetts announced this week the lifting of mask mandates for either businesses or schools.
The moves come as the US governmentgrows increasingly concerned about copycat trucker-led protests against coronavirus restrictions that have shut down the Canadian capital Ottawa and three US border crossings.
Watch | NYC's municipal workers face termination over covid-19 vaccine status
Supporters of the movement in the United States have called on a convoy of truckers to gather in California in early March for a two-day rally before possibly heading towards the capital Washington.