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Reasons behind recent actions by Youngstown city leaders may be well intentioned, but we believe the steps being taken are reaching too far into the private lives of both workers and constituents.
In recent weeks, Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown began seeking to know which city employees have been fully or partially vaccinated against COVID-19. He wanted to obtain the information by mid-October. We understand that some, but not all, city workers have complied with his request.
In the letter he sent early last month to employees, Brown said, "If you do not comply with this request, you will be assumed and listed as unvaccinated."
This overreach on the local level seems to very closely mirror a similarly questionable mandate from President Joe Biden for executive branch federal employees. Biden also intends to require private businesses with 100 or more employees likewise to ensure that their employees have been vaccinated.
We believe the legality of that requirement almost certainly will be challenged in court.
While Biden's announcement first came nearly a month ago, just this week the White House said it soon will publish details of the requirement estimated to cover some two-thirds of the private-sector workforce.
Under the president's plan, companies must develop and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy and / or create an alternative plan that gives workers the option to get tested regularly and requires them to wear a mask at work, according to a Labor Department spokesperson.
The mandate also will require employers to provide paid time off to workers to get vaccinated and paid sick leave to recover from any side effects.
Speaking of overreach!
Last month, when Youngstown's mayor began seeking vaccination information from the city's employees, Brown said he, too, was considering a mandatory vaccination requirement for city employees. So far, he's not finalized such a plan.
"We're looking at other cities and what they're doing," Brown said at the time.
Indeed, other cities nationwide have been considering vaccination mandates for public employees. One in particular, New York City, has gained recent national attention following deadlines on its mandate.
Just this week CBS News reported that about 2,300 members of the New York City Fire Department reported off work sick
on Monday as that city's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for municipal workers went into effect. FDNY employs about 11,000 uniformed
workers.
All New York City workers were required to have received at least one dose of the vaccine by Oct. 29, under a mandate issued by Mayor Bill deBlasio. Now New York officials say they suspect many of those who didn't roll up their sleeves were feigning illness to avoid being disciplined for failing to comply with the health requirement.
Roughly 9,000 municipal workers were put on unpaid leave Monday for failing to meet the deadline and comply with the COVID-19 mandate, deBlasio said.
It's ironic that such drastic action, in the name of safety, may have the exact opposite effect with inadequate staffing or slowed response of that city's first responders.
If Youngstown chooses to enact a vaccination mandate, Brown has said those workers refusing the vaccine could be subject to weekly COVID-19 testing at their own expense.
That, too, can have far-reaching effects for the workers who perform the essential duties of government in the city, thereby triggering problems for residents who rely on first responders or other municipal operations.
Let us remind our local leaders that government exists to serve its public, to provide essential services and to protect our rights. Anything beyond that, as we see it, is an overreach.
editorial@vindy.com