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INSIGHT-From Boeing to Mercedes, a U.S. worker rebellion swells over vaccine mandates
Reuters ^ | 2 November 2021 | Tina Bellon and Eric M. Johnson

Posted on 11/02/2021 8:59:45 AM PDT by george76

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."

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.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Front Page News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Kansas; US: Texas; US: Washington
KEYWORDS: anthonyfauci; covid19; covidstooges; employment; mandate; mandates; obamacare; rebellion; vaccination; vaccine; vaccinemandates; vaccines; worker; workerrebellion
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To: goodnesswins

Holy cow! That video is a MUST SEE, if only to watch and confirm that what she is saying holds water.

I always like to say that if someone is making decisions that make no sense, it means either they are a fool, or they know something you don’t and are working toward an objective you are not aware of.

I apply that to our politicians today and, frankly, all over the world. Australia is the most stark example of this. It’s downright hyperbolic.


41 posted on 11/02/2021 9:42:40 AM PDT by cuban leaf (My prediction: Harris is Spiro Agnew. We'll soon see who becomes Gerald Ford, and our next prez.)
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To: Lockbox

Why aren’t those on welfare/entitlements required to be vaccinated?


42 posted on 11/02/2021 9:47:32 AM PDT by ActresponsiblyinVA
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To: ActresponsiblyinVA

Where do you go to obtain a “fake” vaccine card?


43 posted on 11/02/2021 9:50:15 AM PDT by princess leah
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To: dhs12345

either use a condom or take a pill.


44 posted on 11/02/2021 9:53:28 AM PDT by Paul46360 (What??ME worry?)
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To: george76

How does an unconstitutional “mandate:, replace constitutional rule?


45 posted on 11/02/2021 9:54:27 AM PDT by Terry L Smith
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To: george76; pookie18

a-tip-o-the-hat-to-you pookie18

46 posted on 11/02/2021 9:55:09 AM PDT by null and void (The SWAMP, Where Bottom Feeders Are Apex Predators!)
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To: dhs12345

And if they win, what is next?


http://rebirthofreason.com/Articles/Gleaves/Dinner_at_the_White_House_-_a_parable.shtml


47 posted on 11/02/2021 9:55:25 AM PDT by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere.)
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To: kevslisababy
Our government is playing a game of chicken with the nations citizens, they want to break us....

These chickens are coming home to roost.

48 posted on 11/02/2021 9:56:16 AM PDT by null and void (The SWAMP, Where Bottom Feeders Are Apex Predators!)
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To: ReaganGeneration2
Why is HemiReuters reporting this?

Just reporting the news Americans won't report...

49 posted on 11/02/2021 9:57:23 AM PDT by null and void (The SWAMP, Where Bottom Feeders Are Apex Predators!)
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To: george76

Aircraft quality machinists are NOT easy to replace.

Schools today don’t want ANY MATH standards.


50 posted on 11/02/2021 10:01:44 AM PDT by ridesthemiles ( )
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To: Eagles6; Travis McGee
When you take everything away from someone, destroy their lives and harm their families or them...

"Freedom's just another work for nothing left to lose..."
Janice Joplin and Bobby Travis McGee!

51 posted on 11/02/2021 10:02:50 AM PDT by null and void (The SWAMP, Where Bottom Feeders Are Apex Predators!)
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To: george76

Like the General said.....”the only good tyrant is a dead tyrant


52 posted on 11/02/2021 10:05:13 AM PDT by bert ( (KE. NP. N.C. +12) Like BLM, Joe Biden is a Domestic Enemy )
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To: RBW in PA

As a household poised to be 100% unemployed in the near future, neither one of us wishes harm on anyone. That’s un-Christian. We do, however, hope every one of the organizations supporting this tyranny lose their mother loving shirts commercially.

“Let’s Go Brandon” is a modern day “Who is John Galt?”


53 posted on 11/02/2021 10:06:59 AM PDT by rarestia (“A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one.” -Hamilton)
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To: Lockbox

IMO, the biggest ‘wholesale EXEMPTIONS are those for illegal invaders & the Afghans Biden is burdening us with.


54 posted on 11/02/2021 10:15:36 AM PDT by ridesthemiles ( )
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To: unixfox

Rats in city garbage in NYC are going to bring back diseases this country had wiped out years ago.

ALSO-—How many Afghans have ever had ANY kind of vaccine????


55 posted on 11/02/2021 10:17:06 AM PDT by ridesthemiles ( )
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To: PGR88

Most Americans are dumber than a box of rocks.
It’s been pretty obvious for awhile now too.


56 posted on 11/02/2021 10:19:16 AM PDT by Roman_War_Criminal (Jesus + Something = Nothing ; Jesus + Nothing = Everything )
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To: PIF

Interesting he said you’ll need a vaccine to ‘prevent transmitting’ the disease. I read something said in England today or yesterday about a vaccine to stop transmission?


57 posted on 11/02/2021 10:26:47 AM PDT by Betty Jane
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To: george76

SPECIAL WORLDWIDE CALL TO PEACEFUL PROTEST
This is a very powerful speech by a very brave lady.
https://www.brighteon.com/4cd8219a-6656-4caa-a383-93bacf114abb
FINALLY!

A WORLDWIDE PROTEST
NOV 3
So many people have been waiting for a Leader to announce a
Worldwide Counter offensive to resist peacefully against the One World Order.
Stand with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., in unison with People Around
the World!
https://www.brighteon.com/d292ba4a-a04a-4d50-851d-a9515f420b50
IT IS STILL NOT TOO LATE!


58 posted on 11/02/2021 10:27:08 AM PDT by Dick Bachert
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To: RBW in PA

You might not see violence, in every case, but certainly that normal workplace culture of water cooler talk, company picnics, etc. Will certainly be over.


59 posted on 11/02/2021 10:31:08 AM PDT by matt04 ( )
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To: george76
"We're going to lose a lot of employees BUSINESS! over this,"
60 posted on 11/02/2021 10:41:34 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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