From Boeing to Mercedes, a U.S. worker rebellion swells
over vaccine mandates
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[November 02, 2021] By
Tina Bellon and Eric M. Johnson
AUSTIN/SEATTLE (Reuters) - In Wichita,
Kansas, nearly half of the roughly 10,000 employees at aircraft
companies Textron Inc and Spirit AeroSystems remain unvaccinated against
COVID-19, risking their jobs in defiance of a federal mandate, according
to a union official.
"We're going to lose a lot of employees over this," said Cornell Adams,
head of the local Machinists union district. Many workers did not object
to the vaccines as such, he said, but were staunchly opposed to what
they see as government meddling in personal health decisions.
The union district has hired a Texas-based lawyer to assist employees
and prepare potential lawsuits against the companies should requests for
medical or religious exemptions to vaccination be denied.
A life-long Democrat, Adams said he would no longer vote for the party.
"They'll never get another vote from me and I'm telling the workers here
the same thing."
The clock is ticking for companies that want to continue gaining federal
contracts under an executive order by Democratic President Joe Biden,
which requires all contractor employees be fully vaccinated against
COVID-19 by Dec. 8.
That means federal contract workers need to have received their last
COVID-19 shot at least two weeks before the deadline to gain maximum
protection, according to U.S. government guidance.
With a three-week gap between shots of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine,
workers must get the first jab by Wednesday. If the government holds
fast to its deadline, it is already too late to choose Moderna's
vaccine, which is given in two doses four weeks apart. Workers could opt
to get Johnson & Johnson's single-shot vaccine until Nov. 24 to meet the
deadline.
The mandate has stirred protests from workers in industries across the
country, as well as from Republican state officials.
Opposition to the mandate could potentially lead to thousands of U.S.
workers losing their jobs and imperil an already sluggish economic
recovery, union leaders, workers and company executives said.
More legal clashes are likely over how companies decide requests for
vaccination exemptions.
For the companies, time is getting tight, though the Biden
administration has signaled federal contractors will not have to
immediately lay off unvaccinated workers who miss the Dec. 8 deadline.
Under government guidance
https://www.saferfederalworkforce.gov/
faq/contractors published on Monday, companies will have flexibility
over how to implement the mandate, which may allow them to avoid mass
firings.
"A covered contractor should determine the appropriate means of
enforcement with respect to its employee," the guidance said.
For Boeing Co in the United States, more than 7,000 workers have applied
for religious exemptions and around 1,000 are seeking medical
exemptions, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. That amounts
to some 6% of the planemaker's roughly 125,000 U.S employees.
'ILLEGAL, IMMORAL AND IMPRACTICAL'
At a rally last week outside Boeing property in Auburn, south of
Seattle, many of the three dozen workers gathered in driving rain said
they would rather be escorted off Boeing property on Dec. 8 than take a
vaccine. Others said they would pursue early retirement.
"The mandate is illegal, immoral and impractical," said one veteran
Boeing program analyst who attended the rally. "We are standing together
against a company and government trampling on our rights."
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Boeing employees and others line the street with signs and American
flags as they protest the company's coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
vaccine mandate, outside the Boeing facility in Everett, Washington,
October 15, 2021. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/File Photo
Many legal experts have said vaccine mandates in the interest of public health
are legal.
The rebellion has put Boeing executives in a bind. The company could lose
skilled staff, but must comply with a presidential order.
A Boeing spokesperson said the company was committed to maintaining a safe
working environment for its employees.
The order's provision for religious and medical exemptions is causing more
tension.
Two Textron workers who requested religious exemptions told Reuters the
company's human resources representatives quizzed them on the name of their
church leaders and asked detailed questions about their faith.
Textron declined to respond to questions, but in a statement said it was
obligated to comply with Biden's order and was taking steps to do so.
"Employees who are unable to receive the COVID-19 vaccination due to a medical
condition or sincerely held religious belief are being provided an opportunity
to request an accommodation from this requirement," Textron said.
Spirit AeroSystems did not respond to a request for comment.
Raytheon Technologies' CEO Greg Hayes last week warned the U.S. defense firm
will lose "several thousand" employees because of the mandate.
A group representing FedEx Corp, United Parcel Service Inc and other cargo
carriers said it would be virtually impossible to have all their workforces
vaccinated by the deadline.
Some companies have imposed vaccine mandates even absent immediate government
regulation.
Mercedes-Benz USA, the U.S. unit of German carmaker Daimler AG which is not a
U.S. government contractor, told employees in an October email seen by Reuters
that proof of vaccination against COVID-19 would become a condition of
employment beginning Jan. 4.
The carmaker said it implemented the move in anticipation of a separate U.S.
government vaccine mandate that would apply to businesses with at least 100
employees, affecting some 80 million workers nationwide.
Less than half of the company's workers at U.S. import processing centers are
vaccinated and many refuse to get a shot, according to a source familiar with
the matter.
Mercedes USA in a statement said it had given employees 90-day notice to fulfill
the requirement, adding that two thirds of its U.S. employees - not including
factory workers in Alabama - have provided proof of vaccination to date.
"We expect that the vast majority of our employees will provide proof of
vaccination before the deadline," the company said.
(Reporting by Tina Bellon in Austin, Texas and Eric M. Johnson in Seattle,
Washington; Editing by Joe White and Bill Berkrot)
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