EVERETT, Wash. Oct 15 Reuters - Waving signs like coercion is not consent and stop the mandate, some 200 Boeing Co employees and others staged a protest on Friday over the planemaker's COVID - 19 vaccine requirement for U.S. workers.
Boeing said on Tuesday that it will require https: www.reuters.com. com business aerospace-defense boeing-will be 'demand-its - 125000 - U.S. employees - to be vaccinated against-govers - 19 - 2021 -10 - 12 their 125,000 state contractors to be vaccinated by Dec 8 under an executive order given by Joe Biden for federal contractors
As the pandemic continued to rage, Biden announced the requirement in September because a large swath of Americans have refused vaccination even though the shots are free, widely available and declared safe by regulators.
It is my choice and it's my body, one Airbus engineer said, his voice almost drowned out by anti-Biden chants and trucks honking to show support along the busy street outside Boeing's factory in Everett, north of Seattle.
It is an experimental drug given under a pseudo-emergency, he added.
Another worker, an assembly mechanic, said: It's America. Why do we do what is told by one man. Earlier this week, Boeing said employees must either show proof of vaccination or have an approved reasonable accommodation based on a disability or sincerely held religious belief by Dec. 8.
Boeing is committed to maintaining a safe working environment for our employees, a spokesperson said. Increasing the health and safety of our global workforce is fundamental to our values and a core priority every day. Federal airlines including Spirit AeroSystems and United Airlines have said that they will also meet the deadline imposed on federal contractors, as has aircraft parts manufacturer American Airlines.
Now that he has issued the Executive Order, it is our responsibility to comply with that order, Spirit CEO Tom Gentile wrote in a memo to employees and seen on Friday by Reuters.
Spirit called back former employees as it prepares for what Gentile characterized as one of the fastest increases in production rates in our industry history. Boeing said its mandate does not apply immediately to its sites in Colorado, where Republican Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order on Monday barring COVID - 19 vaccine mandates by any entity, including private employers.