Told you so. Nobody was going to give up their pension, their job, and two week's additional paid leave.

@1:

Well, almost nobody, apparently. And for those taking such a stup - er, brave? principled? -stance, well, good riddance. That's just more money the City can re-direct out of SPD's budget and toward more social service responses. Plus, I would bet dollars to donut holes that most of these "early retirees" are precisely the same "bad apples" that have been spoiling the barrel for many years, so double-win all around.

So according to the king co outbreak website https://kingcounty.gov/depts/health/covid-19/data/outbreaks.aspx there were a total of 6 outbreaks in all of king co for the months of Aug-Sept for retail and food service establishments. 6! Why are we going forward with vac mandate for restaurants again? I'm vaccinated but if the county is going off the data this seems like a massive overreach that will have little impact other than annoying everyone involved.

We already knew that cops are congenitally incapable of following the law.

Nothing new here.

Twenty-Four employees is hardly "defunding" the police. And there's no indication of how many of them are officers, just some speculation.

We have mandates because we have stupid and selfish people, g2000 dear.

Restaurant employees should be required to have not only Covid vaccines, but also Hepatitis vaccines.

@1 I don’t think their pensions were ever in jeopardy as long as they were vested. Firefighters are in the same WA state pension system and being fired has no bearing on the pension. I don’t think that even a felony conviction in the course of official duties will forfeit the pension.

Molewack dear, just do as you're told by the people who know what they're talking about (doctors and scientists, not crackpots on the Internet, dubious clergy, or AM Radio Hosts) We are not yet even two years into virus, there's a lot we don't know.

Not wearing a mask is being selfish because, even if vaccinated, you are putting others potentially at risk. I believe that's what the young people call a "dick move", no matter how one may attempt to pretty it up by talking about "freedom"

Firedude, I don't know about the WA system, just the city. It takes many years to vest to the point where you will get the maximum pension payment (usually thirty years or a combination of age and years of service).

If you are fired, I believe they give you back what you paid into it. If you are incarcerated, I think you forfeit it for the duration of your time in jail, like Social Security.

@12:

For, like, the ten-thousandth time: yes, we all know you can still become infected and transmit the virus after being vaccinated. But your chances of getting very sick or DYING from a COVID variant after vaccination are almost nil. So, if you're vaccinated you won't get very sick and you won't die; and if you transmit the virus to another vaccinated person, THEY won't get very sick and THEY won't die. But, unvaccinated idiots who contract COVID from anyone are still very likely to get very sick and probably die. Wearing a mask greatly reduces the likelihood that a person carrying COVID will transmit it to someone else, so yes, in fact we ARE protecting those same idiots by minimizing our ability to spread the virus to others, even if it isn't going to make us sick ourselves.

@11 5 years to vest in LEOFF 2. 53 is the minimum retirement age for full pension. See the link for details.

https://www.drs.wa.gov/plan/leoff2/

Firedude, I don't know about firefighters, but it occurs to me that you aren't going to reach your peak earning potential in five years. With us (including the cops) your pension is based on your highest salary over a two year period.

Molewacka Dear, perhaps reading comprehension isn't your thing.......

But let's try again, shall we? Let's focus on just a few things. Maybe that will be easier for you

1) Doctors and Scientists are smarter than you or me.
2) The Virus is new, Doctors and Scientists (who, remember, are smarter than you or me) are learning new things about it everyday.
3) Sometimes that means that things they thought they knew were wrong, and they have to change their advice to people like you and me.
4) Not paying attention to Doctors and Scientists is selfish and stupid.

Do you understand now?

@15 Our pension benefit is based on the highest 60 consecutive month income period.

I wasn’t trying to assert it was a sound financial plan to retire after 5 years (a 10% pension), only that it was possible and getting fired doesn’t matter.

Is there an editor in the house? Is nobody gonna help the young writer improve at her craft?

... perhaps no other city department [if you have to preface a major assertion with a disqualifying qualifier, perhaps you should leave the whole thing out] ... has been quite as fussy [fussy as in finicky or fastidious, enforcing something over-strictly? fussy as in complaining overtly over small sources of dissatisfaction?] ... about the vaccine mandates as the Seattle Police Department [ the whole of SPD? the hold-outs? the union? officers? commanders? senior management?]

Every major union for city employees negotiated on the mandate’s “impacts,” but the Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) did not cut a deal in time for an officer [an officer? some officers? all officers? fussy officers? other-than-sworn employees?] to get one or two jabs ahead of the deadline [pls elucidate - how did delay in cutting a deal hinder an officer or any officers from getting jabbed in a timely manner?].

"very major union for city employees negotiated on the mandate’s “impacts,” but the Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) did not cut a deal in time for an officer to get one or two jabs ahead of the deadline. "

Was SPOG being passive-aggressive and never planning to negotiate any actual accomodations?