Anti-vaccine mandate groups are looking to conduct rallies across the US against American Airlines and Southwest Airlines. According to the leaders of the anti-vaccine mandate groups, they won’t stop until carriers cancel the vaccine requirements for their employees.
However, the anti-vaccine mandate advocates clarified that pilots didn’t call sick during busy weekends to protest the vaccine mandate. Tom Bogart, who is a Southwest Airlines pilot and leader of Southwest Freedom Flyers said that “We’re severely understaffed at the airline”. He added that “The airline and the union have both showed data that shows sick calls were in line with historical norms”.
There were claims on social media that pilots at Southwest called sick as a protest to the vaccine mandate. Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Donald Trump Jr. were among personalities that spread these claims. However, Southwest’s pilots union issued a statement saying that these claims are not true.
Anti-Vaccine Mandate Groups Plan More Protests
Southwest Airlines along with other major carriers as federal contractors need to comply with Biden’s executive order requiring employees to get vaccinated.
The Biden administration pushed the deadline to January next year avoiding disruptions during the busy holiday season.
Even if the Biden administration gave more time for employees to request a medical or religious exemption, anti-vaccine mandate groups are planning more rallies in the US in the coming weeks.
Bogart said that around 9,000 Southwest employees signed up for their group. Southwest has a total of 55,000 employees as of September.
Bogart said that “We need everyone to understand that…they are not alone”. He said that “Every single domestic airline, including regionals and all the majors, they all have similar groups to ours”.
Both American and Southwest didn’t release the actual number of vaccinated workers. However, according to American Airlines CEO Doug Parker, the “vast majority” of their workers are already vaccinated.
A broad anti-vaccine mandate airline group, US Freedom Flyers, conducted protests outside American Airlines’ headquarters in Dallas. According to its coordinator Josh Yoder, “We are not going to let up on the pressure”. He added that “The public outcry over this is tremendous”.
According to a survey by Kaiser Family Foundation on October 28, around 25% of all workers in the US said that their employers require COVID19 vaccination. Also, 1% of adult workers said that they left their work over the vaccine mandate.
