(Adds comments by JetBlue, airline pilots union, Delta,
Southwest)
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Oct 1 (Reuters) – The White House is pressing
major U.S. airlines to mandate coronavirus vaccines for
employees by Dec. 8 and showing no signs of extending the
deadline, four sources told Reuters on Friday.
White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeffrey Zients
spoke to the chief executives of American Airlines ,
Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines on
Thursday to ensure they were working expeditiously to develop
and enforce vaccine requirements ahead of the Dec. 8 deadline
for federal contractors, the sources said.
Some airline officials had asked the White House to push
back the requirements, signed by President Joe Biden last month,
until after the busy holiday travel season.
Zients urged the airlines “to act sooner than later to
ensure as smooth of an implementation process as possible,” one
source said, and made clear the White House does not intend to
relax the deadline.
Zients also urged them to look at the United Airlines
vaccine requirement https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/united-airlines-says-more-than-99-us-employees-have-been-vaccinated-2021-09-28
that was announced in August.
The three airlines separately confirmed the calls took place
but declined to discuss the specifics. Zients did not respond to
a request for comment on the calls.
“Employers should act now to protect their workforce,”
Zients said at a press briefing on Friday, without directly
discussing airlines. “More and more companies are stepping up to
make vaccine requirements the standard across all sectors.”
Last month, Biden signed an executive order requiring
federal contractors to mandate https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclusive-white-house-wants-millions-government-contractors-vaccinated-by-dec-8-2021-09-24
vaccinations and last week issued guidance.
Large U.S. airlines have a number of federal contracts,
including the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF), which was
activated in August to help ferry people who have been evacuated
from Afghanistan in support of the U.S. Defense Department.
The Biden administration notified carriers on Thursday it
would seek a modification of those CRAF contracts to require
vaccinations of airline employees, sources told Reuters.
Other government agencies are also expected to seek
amendments to contracts with airlines.
Last week, the Allied Pilots https://www.alliedpilots.org/Portals/0/Public/DEPT/COMMUNICATIONS/Documents/Blast%20Docs/APA_VaccineMandate_AMOC_Final.pdfAssociation,
which represents 14,000 pilots who fly for American Airlines,
warned “mandatory vaccinations could result in labor shortages
and create serious operational problems for American Airlines
and its peers.”
Two smaller airlines said on Friday they would comply with
the vaccine mandate for federal contractors. JetBlue Airways
said it had “communicated this vaccine requirement to
our crew members.”
Alaska Airlines said it would comply with the
federal contractor vaccine requirements, saying it believes it
and other major U.S. airlines are covered by the executive
order.
Alaska said it “means all of our employees, including
certain contractors and vendors, will be required to be fully
vaccinated, or be approved for a reasonable accommodation such
as medical conditions or religious beliefs that prevent them
from being vaccinated.”
It added: “The date by which employees must be fully
vaccinated has not been confirmed by the government, but it
could be as early at Dec. 8.”
The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council issued a
memorandum https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/FAR-Council-Guidance-on-Agency-Issuance-of-Deviations-to-Implement-EO-14042.pdf
on Thursday on incorporating a clause into their solicitations
and contracts on vaccines. It is expected to issue guidance on
exemptions on Oct. 8, sources said.
Separately, the Labor Department will issue an emergency https://www.reuters.com/world/the-great-reboot/us-retail-industry-seeks-90-day-lead-time-covid-19-rules-2021-09-21order
covering more than 80 million private-sector employees to
require either regular COVID-19 testing or vaccines. That order
is expected this month https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/white-house-wants-millions-government-contractors-vaccinated-by-dec-8-2021-09-24.
Delta said on Friday that 84% of its employees are
vaccinated and it continues “to evaluate the administration’s
plan.” Southwest said it “continues to strongly encourage
employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.”
United Airlines said 99.5% of its U.S.-based employees now
have been vaccinated against COVID-19, excluding those who have
sought an exemption.
The Chicago-based carrier said only 320 U.S.-based staff are
not in compliance as of now with its COVID-19 vaccination
policy.
United, which in early August became the first U.S. carrier
to require COVID-19 vaccinations for all domestic employees, had
asked staff to provide proof of vaccination by Monday or face
termination.
(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington
Editing by Howard Goller, Rosalba O’Brien and Matthew Lewis)
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Keywords: HEALTH CORONAVIRUS/USA AIRLINES (UPDATE 1, PIX)
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