DAYTON — Dayton police union leaders said they are strongly opposed to the city’s new COVID-19 vaccine protocol and they are prepared to go to court to fight it.
Dayton city leaders earlier this week that employees with the city will be required to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 20 or be subjected to weekly COVID-19 testing.
“When they come out and say they’re worried about workplace safety, they’re worried about worker safety, that’s a bold-faced lie,” said Jerry Dix, president of the Dayton Fraternal Order of Police, which represents Dayton police officers.
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The union represents one of the largest employee groups at the city.
Dix said if the city manager and human resources director were concerned they would have spoked with the unions during the process of planning a policy and not after it had been developed.
“He said they spoke with the unions. That’s not true, they spoke at us,” Dix said.
The City of Dayton declined to release any additional comments about the policy when News Center 7 went to city hall Thursday.
When City Manager Shelley Dickstein unveiled the new vaccine and testing mandate she said she has the responsibility to make sure city employees have safe workplaces and that they are able to deliver the services taxpayers require.
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The city is strongly encouraging all of its workers to get the COVID-19 shot and are offering a $100 incentive for workers to get vaccinated. Employees who do not get vaccinated by Sept. 20 will have to submit to the weekly testing and if they refuse they will be terminated.
Dix said the union believes the policy is “a violation of their privacy, a violation of HIPPA and a violation of their constitutional rights, forcing them to undergo a procedure they don’t want to.”
The FOP President said there are plenty of Dayton officers who are vaccinated, but there are also those who haven’t and are now in fear of their jobs and in fear of losing their rights.
“If you run out of time you will be fired, how is this not punitive? How is this not strong-arm tactics?” Dix told News Center 7′s Mike Campbell.
The FOP hopes to get an injunction in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court that stops the police from being implemented, then take the issue to the state employee relations board to come up with a solution that works for both sides.
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