Toronto library workers have been threatened that they will be fired on December 13, and will be unpaid starting November 1, based on their vaccination status.

These beloved members of society are information professionals that have looked beyond headlines to read real peer-reviewed research and government data, and have made personal decisions based on their medical history, religion or creed.

We believe that Toronto librarians and other library workers should not be forced into unemployment. Our libraries are already safe, and in Toronto there have been zero cases of in-library spread.  Our librarians went back to work in the heart of the pandemic, well before vaccines were available, and now we are booting them onto the street in an attempt to get to a 90%, 95% or 100% vaccination rate.

Research tells us that high vaccination rates are NOT related to low case rates, despite what our politicians say. Research also tells us that vaccinated people catch and spread Covid-19 AT THE SAME RATE as unvaccinated people. 

These workers are not being fired for your safety. They are being fired to punish them for making a different choice, a choice that affects nobody but themselves, despite what our politicians have been telling you. 

We believe that all people have the right to be employed in their chosen job, based on their qualifications and skill, NOT based on their medical choices.

Libraries, as purveyors of information, should be basing their employment decisions on real data, NOT on misleading headlines.

Please sign this petition to protect our hardworking and valuable library workers and their families.