Everett Firefighters Local 46 And Everett Fire Administration On Governor’s Vaccine Mandate

Based on the announcement made by Washington State Governor Jay Inslee on August 9th employees of the Everett Fire Department who work providing health care to members of the public have until October 18th to be fully vaccinated.
 
This week MyEverettNews.com asked both the City of Everett Administration and IAFF Local 46 their response to the Governor’s mandate and if it would affect staffing of the Everett Fire Department.

Here’s the response received from Paul Gagnon, President Everett Firefighters, IAFF Local 46.

On behalf of IAFF Local 46 Everett Firefighters, we respectfully disagree with the Governor’s mandate and support our members who should have a choice of vaccination without fear of losing their career.

Here’s the response received from City of Everett Director of Communications Kimberley Cline.

Mayor Franklin and Fire Chief DeMarco strongly support vaccination as a safe and effective way to protect against the spread of COVID-19 in our community, and amongst our City teams. Overall, 81% of Everett Fire’s uniformed personnel have submitted forms attesting they are fully vaccinated.

We are in the process of negotiating impacts with our labor group and preparing to comply with Governor Inslee’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate. EFD does not currently expect to have staffing shortages as a result of the mandate.