On Tuesday, August 16, 2022 LA Libertarians rallied with California Leftists 4 Freedom and Free WeHo in front of City Hall to support LA City employees who have been fired from their jobs or are still being threatened with being fired for not taking the Covid 19 Vaccine.
The Libertarian Party of Los Angeles County will form single issue coalitions across party and idealogical lines. Aligning and joining efforts to support or oppose a certain issue, while having disagreements in other areas, is the only way to actually get things to happen.
Teaming up on an issue with any group is not a blanket endorsement of that groups entire platform or philosophy.
Here is a write up from Los Angeles Daily News reporter Elizabeth Chou.
Libertarians, leftists and anti-vaccine city employees rally for medical freedom outside LA City Hall
The small group representing a mix of political views urged an end to the city's employee vaccine mandate
Protesters for vaccine mandates rally at LA City Hall on Tuesday, August 16, 2022 demanding the city rehires terminated employees who did not get the COVID-19 vaccine.
(Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
By ELIZABETH CHOU | hchou@scng.com | Daily News
PUBLISHED: August 16, 2022 at 3:52 p.m. | UPDATED: August 17, 2022 at 5:15 p.m.
Former and current City of Los Angeles employees joined protesters outside Los Angeles City Hall on Tuesday, Aug. 16 to call on the city to lift a requirement that municipal workers be vaccinated.
The group of eight held signs that read “medical freedom,” “drop the shot” and “coercion is not consent.” One protester waved a large, rainbow tie-dyed flag emblazoned with a peace sign.
Jessica Jimenez, a former Los Angeles Planning Department employee, said she was let go in June. She said her application for a religious exemption from vaccinations was denied and she is challenging that decision.
Jimenez argued that as restrictions in much of Los Angeles have been relaxed, including at sports stadiums, the city still appears to “single city employees out, and tell us ‘Hey, you can’t work here’,” she said.
One current city employee who declined to give his name, citing worries about retaliation, said that his religious exemption application was denied twice. While he has not lost his job, he said, “It can happen at any moment.”
“I come to work everyday expecting to be separated from my job,” he said. “It’s been stressful for over a year.”
He added that his work as a parking enforcement employee comes with risks including getting injured by vehicles.
On Tuesday, he and Jimenez were supported by groups that oppose local government mandates for COVID-19, including the Libertarian Party of Los Angeles, the California Leftists 4 Freedom and Free WeHo.
Ian Jameson, of California Leftists 4 Freedom, called for an end to the city employee vaccine mandate, especially now that the CDC has “radically changed its guidelines for health measures, basically ending the need to segregate people based on vaccine states.”
He called the city’s vaccine mandate “unscientific,” and said it is “against liberal principles of democracy and freedom.”
“We’re here today as a coalition of people from across the political divide, left-leaning people, libertarians, independents,” said Jameson.
Dan Welby, chair of the Los Angeles County Libertarian Party, said that while he frequently called into City Council meetings when they were held via teleconferencing, the City Council now requires the audience to attend in person — and those who attend must provide proof of vaccination before entering City Hall.
“I really wanted to give them hell today, too,” Welby said. “But I can’t get in because I am being discriminated against because I chose not to take the jab, and I refuse to take a test because I’m not sick.”
Welby said that because the city used CDC guidelines to support a city employee vaccine mandate, “It only seems logical that at this point that they must go along with the CDC,” which has significantly relaxed its guidelines.
Welby wants the city to lift its state of emergency regarding COVID, “and allow every Angeleno to decide what is best for them and their family. After two and a half years of this, we all understand the risks involved. We are all capable of acting in ways that we see fit for ourselves and our families.”
On Monday, the Los Angeles County Public Health Department reported around 1,800 cases of COVID-19, and five deaths. On Sunday, 7 deaths were reported, and on Saturday, 14 deaths were reported.
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