Pittsburgh Port Authority workers protest vaccine mandate, cite religious exemptions
Dozens of unvaccinated Port Authority of Allegheny County employees and their supporters gathered Downtown Friday morning to protest the agency’s vaccine mandate, even as officials said more than 140 workers have returned to work this week after getting fully vaccinated.
Many of the employees protesting Friday outside of the Port Authority building in Pittsburgh said they requested religious exemptions, most of which were denied.
“After the past two years of being told I was a hero, I’m told I’m going to be fired,” said Larry Popeck, who has spent 23 years with the Port Authority. He said his job is in jeopardy after his request for a religious exemption from the Port Authority’s covid-19 vaccine mandate was rejected.
Popeck, who works in maintenance, said the vaccine mandate seems hypocritical, considering that Port Authority employees worked throughout the early days of the pandemic, before vaccines were even available. He said that firing potentially hundreds of Port Authority workers will slow the agency’s work, and noted that it takes time and resources to hire and train replacements.
The Port Authority granted 41 out of about 300 exemption requests, said Port Authority spokesman Adam Brandolph.
“Exemptions were denied if it was determined they could not be reasonably accommodated, for example employees who came into close contact with one another and the public,” Brandolph said.
When asked about Friday’s protest, Brandolph responded, “It certainly is a beautiful day for it.”
Jim Welsh, an attorney who represents 60 Port Authority employees who sought a religious exemption and were denied, said he has drafted exemptions for several major employers in Pittsburgh, including Verizon, UPMC and other health care providers. Port Authority is the only one to deny the request, he said.