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The Firsthand Report

Aimee@Firsthand Media

Firsthand Media"s podcast firsthandmedia.substack.com

society & culture documentary

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8:34

Court Hears Oral Arguments in Miraglia et al. v. New...

The Firsthand Report ·

2024/07/20

Attorneys made oral arguments at a lengthy July 18 hearing in Miraglia et al. v. New York City Department of Education et al. Attorney Austin Graff argued for the petitioners, 51 Department of Education employees who were adversely affected by the DOE’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, while five lawyers represented respondents in the case, the DOE, United Federation of Teachers (UFT) and Council of Supervisors and Administrators (CSA).Nineteen of the petitioners attended the proceedings in Staten Island

36:20

New York Mandate Podcast, Ep. 52: Attorney Austin...

The Firsthand Report ·

2024/07/04

In this episode of the New York Mandate Podcast, I talk with attorney Austin Graff about Miraglia et al. v. New York City Department of Education et al. The lawsuit led by Graff is being brought by 51 people who worked for the DOE and were put on leave without pay, terminated, and subjected to other adverse effects of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for DOE employees. The respondents include not only the City and the DOE, but also the workers’ unions, the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) and the

69:24

New York Mandate Podcast, Ep. 51: Post-Hearing...

The Firsthand Report ·

2024/06/26

In this episode of the New York Mandate Podcast, I talk with social worker Diane Pagen and Bravest for Choice members Matt Connor, Tim Heaton, and Jack Wei Lin after a June 24, 2024 New York City Council Civil Service and Labor Committee hearing at City Hall in Manhattan.At the hearing, council members heard testimony in support of Resolution 5 from 17 municipal workers who were put on leave without pay and lost jobs under the City’s vaccine mandate. Resolution 5 calls on the New York State

143:52

VIDEO: New York Mandate Podcast, Ep. 8: Sanitation...

The Firsthand Report ·

2024/04/19

“I think we need a labor party. I think that the only thing that's going to break the Democrat-Republican nonsense and the Third Way politics that they've created is by creating a third party that focuses on the most important thing about being an American: having a job, having a stable job.” - Danny HulkowerApril 2024 UPDATE: This is a video version of the previously published audio-only version of our conversation. Danny is one of the petitioners-respondents in the Garvey v. NYC lawsuit, for which

116:53

VIDEO: New York Mandate Podcast, Ep. 10: Sanitation...

The Firsthand Report ·

2024/04/18

“As Christians, we believe God owns our body, bought with a price. First Corinthians, chapter six tells us that this is a temple of the holy spirit. We believe that Christ shed his blood on that cross, and he bought us with the most valuable price there ever could be. And that was his blood, his life. . . . I'm not going to do anything to violate what's God's property. I'm to be a manager of what's God's. So my body is not my own. I've been bought with a price and I have to manage that very

153:14

New York Mandate Podcast, Ep. 50 Teacher and...

The Firsthand Report ·

2024/04/08

“We are creative beings, and we can figure out a way through. So this is my way through, and it’s a process. I’m not through, but I’m going through the process. . . . I’m hoping that this, what I’m going through right now, will push my kids through to a moment that they might need some inspiration to recreate themselves in an unforeseen situation.” - Moe OlivierThe New York Mandate Podcast is subscriber-supported. To receive new episodes and support my work, become a subscriber.In this episode of

146:42

New York Mandate Podcast, Ep. 49: FDNY Lieutenant...

The Firsthand Report ·

2024/03/08

“One of the things that I’m wrestling with is . . . how committed should I be to this career that I love so much when we’ve been treated this way—and the lack of decency in our return to work and the lack of decency for the people that are still out of work now. . . . I think a lot of us try to answer that question: To what extent am I going to remain committed to a city that’s treated people this way, or an agency that’s treated people this way, or my neighbors who segregated me from society? To

152:43

New York Mandate Podcast, Ep. 48: Social Worker Diane...

The Firsthand Report ·

2024/02/26

“I want to live in a place that has real participatory society that isn’t top down and isn’t run by gangsters. I feel like New York is run—it’s like Boss Tweed all over again. You don’t have any say. There’s a lot of bullying and a lot of just not caring about people and not being respectful of the trust that your citizens have put in you. . . . So I don’t want to live in a place like that, even if it’s my place.” - Diane PagenThe New York Mandate Podcast is subscriber-supported. To receive new

111:18

New York Mandate Podcast, Ep. 47: New York State...

The Firsthand Report ·

2023/12/23

“As an unvaccinated person, they're saying to me that there's something possibly wrong with you, that you're sick, you're ill, you have to prove your innocence. You have to prove that you are worthy of continuing to participate in society, which I find to be a complete reworking of the social contract that I was born into.” - Addison ReevesIf you think it’s important for people to hear Addison’s story, please share it!In this episode of the New York Mandate Podcast, I talk with Addison Reeves, who

55:13

New York Mandate Podcast, Ep. 46: Attorney Austin Graff

The Firsthand Report ·

2023/11/17

“I don't think we've seen the end of the vaccine litigation. I think it's just starting. . . . Courts go back and forth—it depends upon the judge, depends upon the court—but they're sticking to the COVID vaccine as being a mandate of employment and a requirement that employees just have to live with, unfortunately.” - Austin GraffThis post is public, so feel free to share it!In this episode of the New York Mandate Podcast, I talk with Austin Graff about labor laws and employees’ rights in the

88:45

New York Mandate Podcast, Ep. 45: Cosmetologist and...

The Firsthand Report ·

2023/10/02

“I always feel that I’m in the company of some really kickass, strong people that are very brave. Even though they’ve lost everything, they’re still fighting. It’s not just me and my little group of people. There are other people out there that are in the same position that I am—probably thousands. Millions, maybe.” - ShellieThe New York Mandate Podcast is subscriber-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a subscriber.In this episode of the New York Mandate Podcast, I

97:20

New York Mandate Podcast, Ep. 44: High School History...

The Firsthand Report ·

2023/08/25

“The type of groupthink, witchhunt mentality, the sort of uncritical views that many have taken during this time are reminiscent of the times of ascendancy for the Bolsheviks in the Soviet Union, or the Nazis in Germany, or the CCP in communist China. So that's what frightens me, as a history teacher. We study these things and we go, ‘How could everyday people go along with this oppression?’ . . . But we see it time and time again in history. We see the common tools being used—fear, censorship, the

97:28

New York Mandate Podcast, Ep. 43: Hair & Makeup...

The Firsthand Report ·

2023/08/07

“I'm waiting for people to take accountability and say, ‘Listen, I messed up,’ or ‘I'm so sorry that I judged,’ or any of that. I don't think that's really ever happened. . . . It's just like, poof, it's gone, and everyone's supposed to get back to their normal lives. And there's no normalcy for those of us who lost our careers. Some people have lost their homes. The connections that I've lost, and having to work to build again—it’s really, really sad.” - Hilary ShawnThe New York Mandate Podcast is

109:18

New York Mandate Podcast, Ep. 42: Restaurant Server...

The Firsthand Report ·

2023/08/03

“What people don't understand is that this plandemic has ruined lives, has made us destitute, has evicted some of us, made some of us homeless, has had a lot of us commit suicide. This is very real, and it's not over. It's not over by a damn sight. We have to keep fighting.” - Virginia AlleyneThe New York Mandate Podcast is subscriber-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, become a free or paid subscriber.In this episode of the New York Mandate podcast, I talk with Virginia Alleyne, a

78:33

New York Mandate Podcast, Ep. 41: Attorney Sujata Gibson

The Firsthand Report ·

2023/07/22

“This is still really impacting thousands of people's lives. And it's not something we can just brush under the carpet and pretend never happened. This ruined lives unjustly and we have to make it impossible to ignore that.” -Sujata GibsonThe New York Mandate Podcast is subscriber-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, become a free or paid subscriber.In this episode of the New York Mandate podcast, I talk with civil rights attorney Sujata Gibson, who is representing

128:51

New York Mandate Podcast, Ep. 40: Entertainment...

The Firsthand Report ·

2023/07/15

“Hollywood told everyone, ‘You cannot work without this vaccine.’ And everyone fell right in line. Even if it was a fake card, you were complying under pressure just in kind of a surreptitious way. So what are they going to ask next? What are they going to require next? They already know that they can do it. All they have to do is just hold the paycheck. That's all it took. So, you know, people have to start questioning.”The New York Mandate Podcast is subscriber-supported. To receive new posts and

73:29

New York Mandate Podcast, Ep. 39: Fitness Instructor...

The Firsthand Report ·

2023/06/12

“Don’t think that politics doesn’t work, or that it’s so compromised up at the top that you can’t chip away from the lower levels. Because we can make a difference, and we’re seeing it. We’re seeing it with the people we’ve elected, in little ways. . . . We’ve beat back Hochul on a lot of things here. So we just have to stay involved at the local level.” - AudreyThe New York Mandate Podcast is subscriber-supported. To receive new episodes and support my work, become a free or paid subscriber.In this

126:16

New York Mandate Podcast, Ep. 38: Attorney Jo...

The Firsthand Report ·

2023/05/31

“Lawyers have believed that Jacobson versus Massachusetts is still good law, and it's not. It has been overturned, or overruled, by the 1944 [Public Health Service] Act and by the OSHA Act, which set forth rules and protections that require states and employers to respect the First Amendment right of an individual to refuse medical care.” - Jo Saint-GeorgeThis post is public, so feel free to share it.In this episode of the New York Mandate Podcast, I talk with Jo Saint-George, an attorney who is

66:48

New York Mandate Podcast, Ep. 37: Attorney Austin Graff

The Firsthand Report ·

2023/05/19

“God forbid we have another outbreak of something and a vaccine comes along, and all these people who fought for now years—we don't want this to happen again. . . . We still have liberty, we still have property rights, and our due process can't be taken away from us because we have an emergency situation.” - Austin GraffThis post is public so feel free to share it!In this episode of the New York Mandate Podcast, I talk with Austin Graff, an attorney who is representing New York City workers who were

142:56

New York Mandate Podcast, Ep. 36: Advocate Betsy Combier

The Firsthand Report ·

2023/05/05

“People, you can do it. You can get what you want and need, so go for it. . . . Because you are unique and there's no one like you, and you have special skills and life experiences that are needed and necessary. So go after what you want and go after it with a lot of thought, creativity. Don't believe what you hear, read, or see. Believe what you think is the right thing.” - Betsy CombierThis post is public so feel free to share it!In this episode of the New York Mandate Podcast, I talk with Betsy

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