Tyson Foods is requiring its team members at U.S. office locations to be fully vaccinated by October 1, 2021. All other team members are required to be fully vaccinated by November 1, 2021, subject to ongoing discussions with locations represented by unions. In the press release, officials said it was to protect team members, their families and their communities.
That includes the Union City plant.
Some employees in West Tennessee have been picketing the Newbern plant with signs saying, “No Mandate”.
This action makes Tyson Foods the largest U.S. food company to require COVID-19 vaccinations for its entire workforce. Almost half of Tyson Foods’ U.S. workforce has been vaccinated and coronavirus infection rates among team members remain low.
“Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is the single most effective thing we can do to protect our team members, their families and their communities,” said Dr. Claudia Coplein, Chief Medical Officer, Tyson Foods. “With rapidly rising COVID-19 case counts of contagious, dangerous variants leading to increasing rates of severe illness and hospitalization among the U.S. unvaccinated population, this is the right time to take the next step to ensure a fully vaccinated workforce.”
The following is the statement from Tyson officials:
- We’re requiring team members at U.S. office locations to be fully vaccinated by October 1, 2021. All other team members are required to be fully vaccinated by November 1, 2021, subject to ongoing discussions with locations represented by unions. Read OUR CEO’s MEMO for more information.
- We’ve transformed our U.S. facilities with protective measures including walk-through TEMPERATURE SCANNERS and wellness screenings, workstation dividers and face shields, SOCIAL DISTANCE MONITORS and ALWAYS-ON TESTING.
- We have expanded our health services staff, adding A CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER and over 200 nurses and administrative support staff, and we plan to PILOT HEALTH CLINICS for team members and their families.
- We are offering free, on-site vaccinations to team members; providing expert resources and education on the vaccine in multiple languages; and COMPENSATING WORKERS for up to four hours of regular pay if they are vaccinated outside of their normal shift or through an external