Southwest is latest airline to mandate COVID vaccine
Dallas-based Southwest Airlines will require all its employees to be vaccinated or get an exemption to “continue employment with the airline,” following competitors United, American and JetBlue which have already announced plans to follow the White House mandates on the COVID-19 vaccines.
Southwest has 60,000 employees nationwide and was the country’s largest airline in pandemicstricken 2020. The company and other airlines are under pressure from the Biden administration to make sure all employees receive a COVID-19 vaccine. The company confirmed that it spoke with a White House representative last week.
“Southwest Airlines must join our industry peers in complying with the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccination directive,” said Gary Kelly, Southwest’s CEO and Chairman in a statement. “I encourage all Southwest employees to meet the federal directive, as quickly as possible, since we value every individual and want to ensure job security for all.”
Southwest said that employees would have to be vaccinated by Dec. 8, the reported deadline the White House has been pushing for federal contractors.
The move comes nearly a month after the Biden Administration announced that all federal contractors and companies with more than 100 employees would need to have all employees vaccinated. Contractors that fail to comply could lose lucrative government contracts. Large employers could face fines of $14,500 per instance through the Occupation Safety and Health Administration.
In recent memos to employees, Kelly has reiterated that he thinks all employees should have the ability to choose for themselves whether or not to get vaccinated, but also said that the government has the right to enforce mandates as well.
“Southwest Airlines is a federal contractor and we have no viable choice but to comply with the U.S. government mandate for employees to be vaccinated, and — like other airlines — we’re taking steps to comply,” Kelly said in a memo to workers Monday.
Southwest is also giving employees the option to fill out a medical, disability or religious exemption.
Kelly told employees that “there are provisions for medical or religious accommodations, but they are very limited.”
Fort Worth-based American Airlines said last week that all employees must be vaccinated to remain employed as well.
Southwest, along with airlines Delta and American, had initially offered incentives such as extra pay or vacation time for those employees who would submit proof of application.
But there has been pushback, particularly from pilots, who worry that getting vaccinated may create medical complications and put their flight licenses at risk. The CDC has indicated that there are no long-term health risks from any of the COVID-19 vaccines that have been approved by the federal government. Pilot unions at American and Southwest have warned that there could be a shortage of pilots during the holidays if vaccine mandates are imposed.
Last week, Chicago-based United Airlines reported that more than 99 percent of its employees followed the rules to get a vaccination or exemption. About 3 percent of employees sought a religious or medical exemption. Less than 350 employees chose not to do either and the company is working with those employees, but if they don’t get vaccinated they will be let go, United said last week.