Firefighters hold rally to protest Newark’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate

Firefighters rallied in Newark on Wednesday to protest the city’s mandate that city employees must get the COVID-19 vaccine.
The firefighter’s union wrote a letter to Mayor Ras Baraka earlier this month asking for the option to get tested instead of taking the vaccine, and have the city pay for it.
The union says that Baraka’s executive order conflicts with their contract when it comes to sick time.
"This is all about terms and conditions of employment. They have to be negotiated. The mayor simply sat up in his office, signed an executive order, and turned our contract upside down,” says union president James Stewart Jr. "What do they take away from us tomorrow? They can't just sign an executive order and steamroll a union into submission. That's not the way it works and that can't happen."
The mayor responded to the union’s letter by saying that the other rules and procedures law enforcement and fire officials must follow "follow the same logic as getting vaccinated."