Some US Workers Face Job Losses for Resisting Vaccine Rules
2021-10-24
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1Thousands of American workers face possible job losses as requirements to be vaccinated against COVID-19 begin to be enforced.
2The vaccine requirements, known as mandates, from governments and companies have faced opposition across the country.
3But they have also been effective at persuading many workers to get vaccinated.
4COVID-19 has killed more than 700,000 people in the United States.
5U.S. officials say about 77 percent of individuals who are eligible for a vaccine have received at least one shot.
6One of the latest public disputes over the issue happened this week at Washington State University (WSU).
7The university's head football coach was fired along with four assistants for failing to obey the state's vaccine requirement.
8The coach, Nick Rolovich, had sought a religious exception to the rule earlier this month.
9School officials said the vaccine requirement is aimed at protecting the safety of its teachers and students.
10"Experience is showing that vaccine mandates help motivate people to complete the vaccination process," said Marty Dickinson, who heads WSU's Board of Regents.
11However, the mandates are causing concern about worker shortages across several industries.
12Thousands of police officers and firefighters in cities like Chicago and Baltimore are at risk of losing their jobs soon.
13They are facing rules that require them to report whether they are vaccinated.
14In Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been battling with the city's police labor union.
15It does not support the vaccine mandate for city workers.
16About one third of the city's 12,770 police employees failed to report their vaccination status last week as required.
17Some officers have had their pay cut off.
18Lightfoot has said the mandate is aimed at "saving lives" and creating a safe workplace.
19She accused the union of trying to start an "insurrection" by opposing the rule.
20The administration of President Joe Biden has been behind the push to get more Americans vaccinated.
21Last week, about 200 Boeing Company employees and others held a protest.
22They oppose the airplane maker's requirement that 125,000 workers be vaccinated by December 8.
23That rule is linked to an executive order issued by Biden for federal contractors.
24The rules for another order covering private businesses with 100 or more employees are expected to be finalized soon.
25Along with the mandate for federal workers and contractors, Biden's vaccine requirements will affect about 100 million people.
26That is about two-thirds of the U.S. workforce.
27A series of layoffs has already moved through the healthcare industry.
28The industry acted faster than others to put vaccine mandates in place.
29Nurses and other healthcare workers who chose to leave their jobs rather than be vaccinated recently spoke to Reuters news agency.
30They said they were concerned over a lack of long-term data about the three vaccines currently available in the U.S.
31The vaccines received emergency use approval from the Food and Drug Administration in less than a year.
32Most medical experts have said they are safe.
33They have supported their statements by noting large vaccine trials and saying hundreds of millions have received injections worldwide.
34Some companies are taking steps to reassure workers that their requests for medical or religious exceptions will be given serious consideration.
35Southwest Airlines spoke to its employees last week.
36The company said it would permit the unvaccinated to continue working rather than being placed on unpaid leave.
37Southwest said that would be the case if the requests for exceptions have not been examined by the government's December 8 deadline.
38I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Thousands of American workers face possible job losses as requirements to be vaccinated against COVID-19 begin to be enforced. 2The vaccine requirements, known as mandates, from governments and companies have faced opposition across the country. But they have also been effective at persuading many workers to get vaccinated. 3COVID-19 has killed more than 700,000 people in the United States. U.S. officials say about 77 percent of individuals who are eligible for a vaccine have received at least one shot. 4One of the latest public disputes over the issue happened this week at Washington State University (WSU). The university's head football coach was fired along with four assistants for failing to obey the state's vaccine requirement. The coach, Nick Rolovich, had sought a religious exception to the rule earlier this month. 5School officials said the vaccine requirement is aimed at protecting the safety of its teachers and students. "Experience is showing that vaccine mandates help motivate people to complete the vaccination process," said Marty Dickinson, who heads WSU's Board of Regents. 6However, the mandates are causing concern about worker shortages across several industries. 7Thousands of police officers and firefighters in cities like Chicago and Baltimore are at risk of losing their jobs soon. They are facing rules that require them to report whether they are vaccinated. 8In Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been battling with the city's police labor union. It does not support the vaccine mandate for city workers. About one third of the city's 12,770 police employees failed to report their vaccination status last week as required. Some officers have had their pay cut off. 9Lightfoot has said the mandate is aimed at "saving lives" and creating a safe workplace. She accused the union of trying to start an "insurrection" by opposing the rule. 10The administration of President Joe Biden has been behind the push to get more Americans vaccinated. 11Last week, about 200 Boeing Company employees and others held a protest. They oppose the airplane maker's requirement that 125,000 workers be vaccinated by December 8. That rule is linked to an executive order issued by Biden for federal contractors. 12The rules for another order covering private businesses with 100 or more employees are expected to be finalized soon. 13Along with the mandate for federal workers and contractors, Biden's vaccine requirements will affect about 100 million people. That is about two-thirds of the U.S. workforce. 14A series of layoffs has already moved through the healthcare industry. The industry acted faster than others to put vaccine mandates in place. 15Nurses and other healthcare workers who chose to leave their jobs rather than be vaccinated recently spoke to Reuters news agency. They said they were concerned over a lack of long-term data about the three vaccines currently available in the U.S. 16The vaccines received emergency use approval from the Food and Drug Administration in less than a year. Most medical experts have said they are safe. They have supported their statements by noting large vaccine trials and saying hundreds of millions have received injections worldwide. 17Some companies are taking steps to reassure workers that their requests for medical or religious exceptions will be given serious consideration. 18Southwest Airlines spoke to its employees last week. The company said it would permit the unvaccinated to continue working rather than being placed on unpaid leave. Southwest said that would be the case if the requests for exceptions have not been examined by the government's December 8 deadline. 19I'm Bryan Lynn. 20Reuters reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 21We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 22_____________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24eligible - adj. qualified to take part in a program or activity 25coach - n. someone whose job is to teach people to improve at a sport, skill or school subject 26motivate - v. to give someone a reason for doing something 27status - n. the state of a situation at a particular time 28insurrection - n. the use of force by a group of people to try to get control of a government 29reassure - v. to say something to stop someone from worrying 30deadline - n. a time by which something must be done