They’re trying to teach the city a lesson.
Hundreds of people — most of them Department of Education staffers — protested the agency’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate as it went into effect on Monday.
The crowd gathered outside DOE headquarters in Brooklyn, waving American flags and holding signs that read “My Body My Choice,” “We gave everything and now we’re nothing” and “Choice not Mandates.”
“I just think this should be a personal choice,” one veteran Brooklyn special education teacher told The Post.
“The most distressing thing is that we were told we were essential last year and now we’re just nothing.”
Teachers, paraprofessionals and other DOE employees at the rally said they had been officially placed on unpaid leave with health insurance after refusing to get the jab.
Others said they were still being paid, but weren’t being allowed in their schools as their religious or medical exemption requests are still being considered.
Some 4,000 DOE staffers, including 2,000 educators, were still unvaccinated as classes started Monday morning, according to the United Federation of Teachers. They will now be placed on unpaid leave or have the option to depart the DOE with severance.
About 18,000 vaccine doses were given to public school staff since Friday, bringing the number of vaccinated teachers and staff to 97 percent. Those who received a shot over the weekend were allowed to return to school Monday.
Some DOE staffers at the rally said they knew of colleagues who had only gotten the jab because they couldn’t afford to lose paychecks and had families to worry about.
The crowd swelled to the point that cars were unable to travel down Court Street in Downtown Brooklyn until cops opened up the block.
Some honked their horns in support of the protest, while several shouting matches broke out between the protesters and passersby who backed the vaccine mandate. Police had to step in several times, though none of the arguments escalated beyond yelling and close-range finger-pointing.
“You people are nuts!” yelled a man in a Knicks hat during one confrontation. “It’s not just about you!”
