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Business owners hit hard as US vaccine deadlines extend

Rick Powell had never seriously considered breaking the law before. As president and co-owner of Pemmco Manufacturing, a mid-sized company in Asheboro, North Carolina that makes parts for brands like GM, Powell considers himself a distinguished member of the local community. .

But if Joe Biden’s order forcing companies to make sure employees are vaccinated against Covid-19 or regularly test negative for the disease goes into effect in January as planned, then Powell, who has 135 people on their payroll, will consider simply non-compliant.

“We are struggling with it,” he told the Financial Times from his office on the outskirts of the small manufacturing town. “There is always the option not to do it. We consider ourselves a very ethical company. Intentionally breaking the law is not in our DNA, but it is something we will have to talk about. ”

Powell is one of tens of thousands of business owners that will be required to implement the new rule, which goes into effect on January 4. Those who aren’t fined nearly $14,000 per violation or nearly $140,000 if the violation is found to be “intentional”.

Under the plan, all companies with 100 or more employees will be required to look for evidence of vaccination from each of them or evidence of negative weekly test results. According to the latest census statistics, this rule will apply to 84 million employees, and more than 100,000 businesses.

Biden announced the new mandate in September after becoming frustrated with the incredibly low US rate of fully vaccinated people, now 58% – well below the G7 average of 66 %. The US president has announced stricter regulations for federal contractors and most healthcare providers whose employees will be forced to vaccinate with no option to control them. replacement check.

A Pemmco . employee
A Pemmco employee checks tolerances on the fuel filter. Powell estimates his employees’ vaccination rates to approximate the local county’s vaccination rate, which is 40% © Veasey Conway/FT

This is one of the most extensive fiduciary policies in the world, with many other developed countries such as the UK having chosen to make these measures available only to healthcare workers.

The plans have sparked a backlash from Republicans around the country. On Thursday, Ron DeSantis, the Republican Governor of Florida, signed a bill banning the missions – although Biden administration officials insist their rule will replace that.

Meanwhile, some candidates are trying to make it a midterm election issue next year. Donald Trump, the former president, sent a fundraising email asking supporters to donate to a legitimate campaign against the mission.

This week OSHA suspended work on implementing the rule after a federal court keep it while a coalition of companies and Republican-led states continued to challenge the law.

Powell has yet to count how many of his employees are vaccinated, nor has he decided how to administer or pay for the testing regime, which requires testing to be under employer supervision. or medical doctor. However, he said he believes his staff’s vaccination rate is approximately the same as the local county’s vaccination rate, which is 40%.

“If we impose mandates, there are people that I trust who will leave,” he said.

Amber Smith, who has been with Pemmco for a week and is training to be an office manager, agreed.

She is unvaccinated and avoids medication because scientists sometimes use cells originally taken from an aborted fetus during drug testing. She is reluctant to take regular tests, because they involve pharmaceutical products and because she is aware that taking frequent breaks from work can cause stress with colleagues.

Like her boss, Smith is now considering breaking the law if the mandate is imposed. “I will leave this job before I turn my back on God and submit,” she said.

Doctors say the health effects of this mission could be significant. When Cone Health, Powell’s local hospital network, imposed its own strict mandate, employee vaccination rates jumped from about 60% to 99%. “The mission could be what helps us end this pandemic,” said Brett McQuaid, the company’s chief Covid-19 physician.

The problem for small business owners like Powell is that employees like Smith can easily land a job at a smaller, relieved company.

“Everybody at Asheboro is hiring,” says Powell. “There are jobs related to warehousing, manufacturing, furniture. Unemployment is around 4%, we have pretty much full employment. ”

Vaccination administered in the United Kingdom, Israel, the United States and the European Union

Powell increased his salary by 15% last year and every morning passes the billboards on his way to work for low-skill jobs with signing bonuses of up to $10,000. la.

The same is true across the US, where unemployment is near historic lows as the country recovers from the initial shock of Covid-19. Wages rose 4.2% in the 12 months to September, based on United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.

More than 1,000 miles west of Asheboro, in Wichita, Kansas, Patrick Goebel is grappling with similar problems.

Over the past few months, Goebel, who runs a building materials supply company called Star Lumber, has held small meetings with employees to encourage them to get vaccinated. He offered employees $100 and extra time off if they did. However, he is struggling to get his company’s vaccination rate above 50%.

“A lot of people don’t feel the need for it,” he said. “They’re mostly 20-35 years old, and they don’t feel obligated to get something they don’t feel they need.”

Like Powell, Goebel is aware that workers have plenty of choices. “We struggled to get people to do the jobs we had,” he said. “The number of times we’ve made an offer and then come the start date and they’ve made another offer – it’s ridiculous.”

Goebel also worries about the impact of stricter vaccine regulation on local federal contractors. Many of Wichita’s largest employers supply aviation equipment to the government and will have to ensure all employees are vaccinated by January 4.

Analysts at Jefferies this week predict that Wichita’s two companies, Textron and Spirit AeroSystems, will be hit hard by employee departures following the mission. A union official told Reuters At the beginning of this month, about half of the employees at both companies were unvaccinated. Both companies said they would comply with the mandate, but would not confirm their current vaccination rates.

“We’re going to have thousands of people sitting at home not working,” Goebel said. That could have disastrous effects on our community. “

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