Boeing will require its 125,000 U.S. employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19
The Boeing brand is seen on the world headquarters workplace constructing in Chicago April 26, 2006./File Picture
WASHINGTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) – Boeing Co mentioned on Tuesday it’ll require its 125,000 U.S. staff to be vaccinated by Dec. 8 underneath an government order issued by President Joe Biden for federal contractors.
“Boeing is requiring its U.S.-based staff to both present proof of vaccination or have an accepted affordable lodging (primarily based on a incapacity or sincerely held non secular perception) by Dec. 8,” the biggest U.S. planemaker mentioned.
The Society of Skilled Engineering Staff in Aerospace (SPEEA) union mentioned it was “speaking with employers to make sure implementation offers correct consideration to members issues, well being points and abides by the provisions of our negotiated contracts.”
Simply over 5,000 Boeing staff are in Texas, the place Republican Governor Greg Abbott issued an government order on Monday barring COVID-19 vaccine mandates by any entity, together with personal employers.
“As a result of Texas EO, the Boeing vaccination requirement introduced right now doesn’t apply to native websites instantly. Nevertheless, as soon as these websites grow to be lined underneath the Biden EO, we anticipate that they may topic to the vaccination requirement,” a Boeing spokeswoman mentioned.
Main U.S. airways have mentioned they can even meet the deadline imposed on federal contractors, together with American Airways , Southwest Airways Co , JetBlue Airways Corp and Alaska Airways , as has plane elements producer Spirit AeroSystems .
The White Home introduced the Dec. 8 deadline for workers of federal contractors final month and the necessities are anticipated to cowl thousands and thousands of staff.
Authorities contractors Worldwide Enterprise Machines Corp and Raytheon Applied sciences Corp have additionally mentioned they may require all U.S. staff to be vaccinated. The White Home is including clauses to future authorities contracts mandating inoculations.
Steve Cave, a King & Spalding legal professional who focuses on authorities contracts, informed Reuters final month he expects the order will have an effect on tens of thousands and thousands of U.S. staff or extra.
The Labor Division individually plans to subject an emergency short-term normal (ETS) requiring employers with greater than 100 staff to have them inoculated or examined weekly – a coverage anticipated to cowl greater than 80 million staff.
However that has nonetheless not gone to the White Home regulatory workplace for evaluation, suggesting the ETS remains to be at the least weeks away.
Reporting by David Shepardson and Eric Johnson; Enhancing by Chris Reese and Peter Cooney
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