Vaccine Mandates And Workers Clash

President Joe Biden recently signed an executive order mandating vaccination for all employers who work under federal contracts. While the clock is ticking on the December 8th deadline, workers are walking out of plants across the country, protesting what they believe is the government meddling in their personal medical decisions. The mandate calls for full vaccination, meaning that employees must have received their final dose of the vaccine at least two weeks before the deadline, ensuring full protection against COVID-19. Aircraft firms like Textron ($TXT@US) and Spirit AeroSystems ($SPR@US) say that nearly half their employees are unvaccinated ahead of the deadline. Cornell Adams, head of the local Machinists union in Wichita, Kansas said, “we’re going to lose a lot of employees over this.” Boeing ($BA@US) has said that more than 7000 workers have filed for religious exemptions and 1000 are seeking medical exemptions. For its part, the federal government has issued guidance that gives companies some leeway in enforcing the mandate, potentially avoiding mass layoffs. Raytheon Technologies ($RTX@US) says it could lose “several thousand” employees, and representatives of major cargo carriers note that it will be almost impossible to get their workforces vaccinated by the deadline.