91% of Tyson Foods employees vaccinated against COVID two months after mandate announcement

About 50,000 more Tyson Foods employees have received at least one shot of coronavirus vaccine since the company announced an inoculation mandate two months ago, bringing the company's total vaccination rate to 91%, a Tyson spokesperson says.

Derek Burleson said in an email to the Des Moines Register on Thursday that the company's vaccination rate is up from less than 50% when Tyson announced the mandate. Union officials told the Register that the vaccination rate at Iowa plants they represent is in line with the company's national rate.

With 120,000 U.S. employees, including 11,000 in Iowa, Tyson was the first national company to require its blue-collar workforce to receive the shots, announcing the mandate Aug. 3. The company's office employees must be fully vaccinated by Friday, while the deadline for production workers is Nov. 1.

Mark Lauritsen, vice president of the United Food & Commercial Workers International, which represents workers at Tyson's Perry and Waterloo pork plants, said he was pleasantly surprised by how few members threatened to quit over the requirement.
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Lauritsen said benefits the union negotiated with Tyson in connection with the mandate helped persuade workers to get vaccinated. The company offers $200 bonuses to vaccinated employees, and on Sept. 3 executives announced that employees will receive two weeks of paid time off if they contract the virus despite receiving the shots. The company also gives workers four hours of paid time off to get the vaccine.
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source:
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/business/2021/09/30/tyson-foods-covid-19-vaccination-rate-hits-91-percent-mandate/5933163001/