Boston City Councilor At-Large Erin Murphy and District 3 Boston City Councilor Frank Baker | Photos courtesyAfter almost two years the city of Boston declared a health emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mayor of Boston Michelle Wu is promoting discrimination against unvaccinated (COVID-19) individuals, violating private businesses’ rights, and unilaterally breaking agreements with public unions.
The Boston Public Health Commission first declared the emergency on March 15, 2020, following the Massachusetts State of Emergency ordered on March 10. On April 24, 2020, the Boston Public Health Commission extended the State of Emergency indefinitely.
On June 15, 2021, the Governor of Massachusetts, Charlie Baker, lifted the state of emergency for the Commonwealth as the COVID-19 vaccines became widely available.
Since January 15, 2022, a mandate from Mayor Wu has forced Boston private businesses such as restaurants to discriminate against potential customers if they do not show “proof of vaccination” (COVID-19). Furthermore, the order forces employees of those businesses to get the COVID vaccine, regardless of their health status or recommendations from their doctors.
Wu also mandated that all public servants must be vaccinated (COVID-19) or face termination, violating the Memorandum of Agreements between the Unions and the Mayor that established a test option for those employees who didn’t want to get the vaccine. Something that prompted two legal actions from the Boston Firefighters Local 718, the Boston Police Superior Officers Federation, and the Boston Police Detectives Union.
This week two Boston City Councilors have finally stood up to Mayor Wu’s abuse of the Health Emergency powers.
Boston City Councilors At-Large Erin Murphy, a Dorchester resident, and District 3 Boston City Councilor Frank Baker ordered a public hearing “to discuss the ongoing state of emergency and the rationale for its continuation.”
On Monday, February 7, councilors Baker and Murphy called for a public hearing that will serve “as a public forum to investigate what objective data points should determine when we are in a state of emergency, what role the Boston Public Health Commission Board and the Boston City Council should have in the oversight and accountability of a public health declaration that limits the rights of individuals, businesses, and workers.”
“When the State of Emergency was declared in March 2020, the former Mayor held a daily meeting with the Council, Public Health and Safety representatives to update and review date, metrics, and crisis interventions. While we have remained in the State of Emergency, there has been no communication with the Council on the mandates put into effect under the current Mayor. The Boston Public Health Commission has not held any public discussions, nor have they taken a vote on these mandates unlike Select and Health Boards in cities and towns across the Commonwealth, who have contemplated similar measures,” said Councilor Baker in a statement.
“We feel it is important to bring together the Boston Public Health Commission, its Board and Executive Director, state public health experts, and Boston business and labor leaders to discuss these mandates. We need to restore the public’s understanding, trust, and confidence,” said Councilor Murphy.
Read: ORDER FOR A HEARING TO ADDRESS THE PUBLIC HEALTH DECLARATION OF 2020.
