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.

Rick Cavanaugh is one of the Port Authority employees whose religious exemption has been denied. pic.twitter.com/J1SkHlRhZt

— Julia Felton (@JuliaFelton16) March 18, 2022

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.

The agency is not challenging the legitimacy of the requests, Welsh said.

“While we do not question the sincerity of your religious beliefs, due to the number of exemption requests received and the nature of your position as an automotive mechanic, where you will have regular contact with others, adequate protections for your safety and the safety of others cannot be provided reasonably without undue hardship,” Port Authority’s exemption review committee wrote in one denial letter.

Welsh questioned the explanation, noting that since the start of the pandemic, the agency kept employees safe with masks, social distancing, extensive sanitization and keeping sick employees home.

“Now, all of the sudden, those reasonable accommodations are no longer effective, and the way we do keep you safe is this vaccine,” he said.

Welsh said that the numbers he has seen show that there are twice as many vaccinated Port Authority workers out with covid-19 now than non-vaccinated.

Welsh would not say what religion his clients are that prompted them to seek an exemption, nor would he say whether they have received other vaccinations.

“Those are all questions an employer is not supposed to ask. They’re trying to trap you into saying something you shouldn’t say,” he said. “The [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission] says your religious beliefs are presumed to be valid.”

Welsh said it doesn’t matter the person’s religion or if they’ve been vaccinated in the past.

“Your relationship with God changes every day, and if you hold a sincerely held religious belief, then you have a valid exemption,” he said.

Welsh said only two of his Port Authority clients were granted an exemption. Their exemption includes requirements that they get tested weekly at their expense and wear an N-95 mask, he said.

Among the protesters gathered Friday was Jamarr Hicks, a bus operator whose religious exemption was denied.

“It was real disingenuous, a total disregard for those who had true, genuine religious beliefs,” Hicks said.

He said he asked Port Authority officials for a more specific explanation of why his exemption was denied and was told simply that it would cause “undue hardship.”

Hicks said Port Authority drivers are behind a plexiglass barrier, keeping them away from the public. Throughout the pandemic, the barrier and face masks had been considered an adequate way to keep the public and drivers safe.

Hicks said he feels religious exemptions aren’t being respected, though he said he sincerely believes his faith warns against the vaccine.

“The Scriptures teach us the body is God’s temple. We aren’t to defile our temple with any substance such as that,” Hicks said. “People grew up all their lives with their faith and their beliefs. People feel strongly about that.“

He and dozens of others held signs with slogans like “God’s law trumps PAT’s mandates,” “Let us drive” and “Remember when we were heroes?” Dozens of Port Authority buses and other vehicles honked in support.

Sean Cooley, who has worked for the Port Authority for about 10 years, said he was considered an essential worker when he was disinfecting trolleys throughout the pandemic.

“My job was to keep everyone safe,” Cooley said.

Now, he said, he feels it’s unfair that his employer is expecting workers to be vaccinated after they had been hailed as essential workers before the shots were available.

Jacob Meinert, a bus assignment shifter, said he’s been losing sleep at the thought of losing his job after his religious exemption was denied. After working with the Port Authority for 18 years — including “during the hard times” of the pandemic — he said he just wanted to keep his job.

Rick Cavanaugh, a wireman, explained that the protesting workers don’t want anything from the Port Authority except their jobs — jobs they performed without vaccines for the last two years.

His job doesn’t deal directly with the public, he said, though he doesn’t believe requiring vaccinations for any Port Authority employee is necessary.

“If this was really about safety, why aren’t we checking vaccination cards for riders?” he asked.

Cavanaugh’s co-worker, Brian Tebbe, who is vaccinated, joined the crowd to show his support. He has told Port Authority officials he is comfortable working alongside his unvaccinated co-worker, as they’ve done throughout the pandemic. Without unvaccinated employees, he said, “not a lot of work gets done.”

Nicole Harris, a vaccinated bus operator, said she, too, would like to see unvaccinated employees get back to work. When they don’t work, she said, other employees have to pick up extra hours, and riders experience delays.

“Without us, there’s no transportation,” she said. “We make the city of Pittsburgh go around.”

Port Authority on Friday announced that more than 140 employees returned to work this week after showing proof that they were fully vaccinated.

“We are thrilled to welcome so many of our colleagues back to work,” said Port Authority CEO Katharine Kelleman. “I’ve heard from so many riders over the past few days who’ve told me they feel safer and more comfortable knowing that all of our employees are vaccinated. I’m happy to report that as of this morning, more than 90% of our employees are either fully vaccinated or well on their way.”

There are now a total of 340 employees being held off work pending disciplinary hearings, according to the Port Authority. Of them, 204 are unvaccinated and 136 have received one dose of a two-dose vaccine. Of the 136 employees who have received one dose, 86 are operators.

The Port Authority has about 2,600 employees, including 1,120 operators.

The employees who recently returned to work either received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson jab or had previously had their first dose of the two-shot Pfizer or Moderna vaccine and received their second dose this week.

Employees who have shown proof of vaccination have had their disciplinary hearings scheduled and have returned to work for their next scheduled shift. Disciplinary hearings for employees who remain unvaccinated or have only one dose began Friday.

Those with one dose could return to work on a 30-day probationary period pending their second dose. Those who remain unvaccinated could face discipline, including termination.

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