Oct. 12—In an internal message Tuesday, Boeing management told its U.S. employees that with limited exceptions they must be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Dec. 8 or face termination.
"Compliance with these requirements is a condition of employment," states a Boeing internal presentation viewed by the Seattle Times. "Employees who are unable to meet these requirements, and do not have an approved accommodation, by December 8 may be released from the company."
Stating that "employees must take action soon," the company laid out deadlines for the various shots:
Moderna: First dose by October 27
Pfizer: First dose by November 3
J&J: Single dose by November 24
"Employees who are unable to be vaccinated due to a disability or sincerely held religious belief must submit an accommodation request," Boeing stated.
Any employee granted such an exemption will have to "undergo frequent testing for COVID-19" and be ready to "present a negative test result upon request."
The policy will apply to roughly 125,000 employees in the U.S., with about 57,000 of those in Washington state.
In an internal labor relations presentation on its decision, Boeing noted that the move is necessary to ensure compliance with President Joe Biden's Executive Orders in September that mandated COVID-19 vaccination for all employees of the Federal government as well as companies that are contractors and subcontractors of the government.
Those executive orders allowed for "exceptions only as required by law."
The terms of the government orders essentially make vaccinations mandatory across the entire aviation industry, from the big defense contractors, to the jet manufacturers, to the major airlines, to the subcontractors who work with those companies.
Many of the biggest businesses across America have already done so, including Walmart and Ford; tech giants Microsoft, Google, and Facebook; and locally Alaska Airlines.
Amazon, the largest employer in the state, has not yet announced a vaccine mandate. However, as a federal contractor, it will have to do so.
A number of local Boeing workers are firmly opposed to vaccination, though it's unclear how many. The company declined to provide information on its employee vaccination rate.
Jon Holden, president of International Association of Machinists (IAM) District 751, wrote in the October issue of the union paper that "the reality is our members are polarized on this issue."
"It is our responsibility to defend and advocate for all our members," Holden added. And though he noted that he and his family are vaccinated, he said the union must also defend "those who can't or won't accept the vaccine."
Holden said he expects an "uphill battle" bargaining with management on the issue, but the union will stand up for "medical and religious exemptions," and that "if an exemption request is denied, we will investigate each on a case-by-case basis."
Boeing may face more resistance to the new policy in some Republican-controlled states such as Texas that are actively opposing Biden's mandate orders.
On Monday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order barring private companies or any other entity from requiring vaccines.
Boeing has more than 5,000 employees in Texas. It has about 32,000 more at facilities in Alabama, Arizona, Missouri, Oklahoma and South Carolina — all conservative states with varying levels of resistance to mandatory vaccination.
Southwest Airlines and American Airlines, both based in Texas, are among the major airlines that have introduced a COVID vaccine mandate.
The white-collar union at Boeing, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), said in a statement Tuesday that it is engaging with management "to ensure implementation gives proper consideration to members concerns."
"We are encouraged that the vast majority of members we are hearing from are vaccinated," the SPEEA statement said, adding that anyone with legitimate health or religious reasons preventing them from being vaccinated should contact the union "if issues arise in applying for an exemption."
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