United Airlines said Wednesday it’s beginning the process to fire nearly 600 employees who have refused to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as required by the world’s third-largest carrier.
United said 99% of its employees have complied with the mandate, but noted that it’s run out of options in working with the remaining 593 who have not received the shot.
“This was an incredibly difficult decision but keeping our team safe has always been our first priority,” United CEO Scott Kirby and President Brett Hart said in a memo to employees, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
The executives said getting most employees vaccinated has been a “historic achievement.”
“Our rationale for requiring the vaccine for all United’s U.S.-based employees was simple — to keep our people safe,” Kirby and Hart added.
United said fewer than 3% of its 67,000 U.S. employees have sought religious or medical exemptions, and that those who received an exemption would be placed on temporary leave on Oct. 2. Workers whose requests were denied have five weeks to get vaccinated, or face termination.
In its original announcement in August, United wasn’t clear how employees who refused the vaccine mandate would be punished.
United’s employees’ union, IAM District 141, says the carrier previously said it would postpone a decision to place those with exemptions on unpaid leave until Oct. 15. The company is facing a lawsuit filed by six employees who are asking the airline to make accommodations for them.
United, which is the world’s third-largest carrier by fleet size and routes, is one of numerous businesses and health systems in the United States that are requiring vaccination for their employees.
Early this week, New York officials said they would begin firing health workers who refused to comply with a similar mandate.
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For the love of money is the root of all evil.
so now the government will have to bailout the airlines and guess who pays for it?
Us tax victims.. like always.
Hopefully they get rid of the trouble maker flight attendants, who no longer serve you food or drink and if they do you need a magnifying glass to see what they are giving you. Darn you can replace the with one person to give you a trick or treat bag of goodies as you enter the plane and then they can direct you to emergency egresses when all fails.
Look at all the money they will save.
What’s the bet NO ONE WAS given a religious exemption. THEY WERE all denied.
Religious exemptions are only going to be around long enough to get you on a list and then they will end. People had better start taking a stand, one they should have took long before now. I seen a story earlier that half of those 600 caved and took the vax. Therein lies the problem, we don’t have any ppl with any guts left in this country. I realize we are approaching the end times, but it’s sad to watch the home of the free and land of brave bend over like this. People are fools if think this is going to stop with vaccine…..next up I’m sure will be euthanasia. They don’t have a problem with killing babies in this country, they sure aren’t going to have a problem killing elderly, physically handicapped, infirmed, mentally ill, you know, the unproductive citizens. As the Bible says there is nothing new under the sun and what happened before will happen again. Now is definitely the time to turn to the Lord and get your house in order. The clock is ticking…
IT used to be home of the free land of the brave. Now days, its HOME of the beta cucks, and land of the cowards. or so it seems.