A few cheers, many worries among U.S. businesses facing COVID-19 vaccine, test mandate
10/09/2021 24:58
By Timothy Aeppel and Jarrett Renshaw
Sept 9 (Reuters) - Big names in Corporate America including
Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O cheered U.S. President Joe Biden as he
mandated employees either get vaccinated or be tested regularly,
but some mid-sized companies worried that the plan would be
tough to carry out and unpopular with a slice of their workers.
Earlier on Thursday, Biden took aim at vaccine resistance in
America, announcing policies requiring most federal employees to
get COVID-19 vaccines and large employers to ensure their
workers are vaccinated or tested weekly. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2QB0QC
The new measures https://www.reuters.com/world/us/bidens-new-covid-19-plan-includes-vaccine-test-mandates-2021-09-09/?enowpopup
would apply to about two-thirds of all U.S. employees, who work
for businesses with more than 100 workers.
Much of Corporate America was silent as it digested the
news. A few household names such as Amazon supported Biden, and
Microsoft Corp MSFT.O and Facebook Inc FB.O said they
already required vaccines for those entering U.S. offices.
But some mid-sized companies worried about losing employees
at a time when they are trying to grow business.
Stephen Bullock, chief executive of Power Curbers Companies
in Salisbury, North Carolina, said he was still reeling from the
implications.
"We have encouraged, cajoled, and educated our staff," he
said, but only 40% of his workforce have received the shot. "We
have a segment of our workforce that will not get the vaccine
under any circumstance."
His 125-employee company builds equipment used to lay curbs
and other concrete products. Business is strong, he said, citing
four job vacancies on the factory floor. Bullock worries that
the Biden mandate could prompt some workers to jump ship and
join smaller companies not subject to the rule.
"To some degree, this does take some of the heat off," he
said, when asked whether he could just blame distant politicians
for something he was already trying to push. "But it also
introduces some logistical challenges."
Bullock wonders how his company will verify the testing,
schedule it, and deal with the cost.
Most fence-sitters already have opted to get the vaccine, he
said. "But maybe having that swab shoved up your nostrils (in
order to be tested) for several weeks will bring some holdouts
over to be vaccinated."
The National Association of Manufacturers, the largest such
U.S. industry group, said getting eligible Americans vaccinated
was an 'economic imperative' and it would work with the
administration to make sure a mandate did not disrupt
operations.
"It is important that undue compliance costs do not burden
manufacturers, large and small alike," President and CEO Jay
Timmons said in a statement.
Jim Worthington, who owns an athletic club in Bucks County,
Pennsylvania, with several hundred employees, opposed the
mandate.
"It really puts me in an awkward position," he said. "I am
pro-vaccine, but also pro-people's rights. It would really
depend on what they do if we don't comply. Are they shutting us
down? A financial penalty? A slap on the wrist?"
Jay Baker, president of Jamestown Plastics in Brocton, New
York, offered a succinct assessment. "I think it's bullshit."
"I'm not a fan of the federal government mandating
anything," he said. "This is not the bubonic plague. This is not
typhoid - and they seem to be treating it like it is."
Baker's company has 150 employees spread between two
factories, and he estimated 70% to 75% of his workers were
vaccinated. Many of those unvaccinated workers will finally
agree to get the shot, just to avoid the hassle of regular
testing, he said.
"But it wouldn't surprise me if the others look for an
employer who doesn't have 100 employees - and that's a huge
issue for me, especially in this competitive job market."
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QUOTES-Corporate, union reaction to Biden vaccine mandate for
companies urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2QB2X4
FACTBOX-Biden's new COVID-19 plan includes vaccine, test
mandates urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2QB5RE
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(Reporting by Tim Aeppel in Los Angeles and Jarrett Renshaw in
Philadelphia
Editing by Peter Henderson, Matthew Lewis and Richard Chang)
((matthew.lewis@thomsonreuters.com;))