Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer sets vaccination policy. What city workers must do
Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer on Wednesday afternoon announced the city’s coronavirus policy requiring employees to be vaccinated or submit to mandatory weekly COVID testing and wearing masks inside the workplace.
The announcement comes as a surge fueled by the COVID delta variant sweeps the region.
Through Wednesday, almost 1,100 coronavirus cases have been reported this week in Fresno County. That’s the largest number of new infections in a week since late February, when a vicious winter spike in COVID-19 cases in December and January was winding down.
“We are not basing these decisions on politics,” Dyer said. “We are basing these decisions on facts, on the information we have, and the desire to save employee lives and lives in the community.”
The plan goes into effect Tuesday, Sept. 7 — the day after Labor Day.
Dyer estimated that at least 36% of city employees are vaccinated, but he acknowledged employees’ reluctance to report their vaccination status. He hopes the number is closer to 50%.
On Wednesday, 70 employees were in quarantine either because of a positive COVID test or they were exposed. In the coming weeks, city staff will work to get a more accurate record of employee vaccinations and build a database.
If employees refuse to get vaccinated or comply with the testing and masking rules, they could be subject to corrective action, including termination, according to a city memo.
Dyer said his intent is to encourage employees to get vaccinated.
“We’re not here today to question why people do not get vaccinated,” he said. “We’re not here to vilify those people, whether they’re employees or other. We know people have a reason for that. It’s a personal choice in their life that they have made. It could be as a result of health reasons, religious beliefs, or just a fear of the unknown, and not believing that the vaccine has been around long enough to be adequately tested.
“But one thing we do know, we are going to continue to encourage people to be vaccinated because we do not want to go backwards,” he said.
Dyer was joined by Councilmembers Luis Chavez and Miguel Arias, who warned against listening to political rhetoric. Instead, they asked employees and residents to pay attention to data from Fresno County’s Public Health Department.
Chavez said the difference this year compared to last year is that we now have the vaccine, which has proven to be an effective tool.
“We do not want to go back to shutdowns,” he said.
Union response
Sam Frank, president of the Fresno City Employees Association, said making the vaccine optional for employees was key. If it was mandatory, some employees might’ve chosen to retire or quit. Plus, the union has no power to stop the policy since the mayor and city manager are acting under an emergency executive order.
Testing once a week is doable, he said, especially if it’s made convenient, such as making it accessible during work hours and free. So far, wearing masks at work hasn’t been a huge problem for the 700-plus white collar workers the union represents, he said.
“These folks for most part have been safe,” Frank said. “They wear their masks, practice social distancing, wear their PPE and for the most part haven’t gotten COVID. They’re going to continue doing the things they’ve been doing.”
He asked for compassion toward those who are not vaccinated. While very few may be opposed entirely to vaccines, many are simply afraid of the COVID vaccines because they’ve read the stories of people having bad reactions.
“You can’t paint them all with the same brush,” he said.
Frank said he liked the incentive programs in cities such as San Francisco and New York, where employees receive $100 or $200 if they get vaccinated.
Bredefeld opposes plan
The city plan was immediately opposed by Councilmember Garry Bredefeld, who said he’s been in contact with many people fearful of losing their jobs if they don’t submit to the “authoritarian mandate.” He said employees shouldn’t be forced to be vaccinated and called the testing and masking policies “harassment.”
While Bredefeld encouraged employees to get vaccinated to protect themselves from COVID-19 and the delta variant, he also called the vaccines “experimental.”
“I think if you’re healthy enough, you should take the vaccine,” he said “But you should not force it, and it shouldn’t be Dr. Dyer, or any politician, telling people how to live their lives.”
This story was originally published August 4, 2021 at 2:43 PM.