Tyson Foods Mandating COVID-19 Vaccinations for U.S. Employees

Tyson Foods announced Tuesday that it is requiring its team members in the U.S. to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 1, 2021, and all other team members are required to be fully vaccinated by Nov. 1, 2021, subject to continued discussions with locations represented by unions, a company release says.

“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, in the release. “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.”

This requirement makes the company the largest U.S. food company to require vaccinations against the coronavirus for its entire workforce. It says that almost 50% of its U.S. workforce has been vaccinated and infection rates among its team members remain low.

The company has hosted more than 100 vaccination events for its workers since February and more than 56,000 U.S. team members have been vaccinated so far, the release says. Additional onsite vaccination events will be scheduled, and the company will continue to collaborate with local health departments and healthcare providers to make the vaccine more accessible.

Tyson Foods also notes in the release that it will provide $200 to its frontline team members, subject to ongoing discussions with locations represented by unions, which it says is an expansion of Tyson Foods’ existing policy to compensate workers for up to four hours of regular pay if they are vaccinated outside of their normal shift or through an external source.

Exceptions to the mandate will be available for workers who seek medical or religious accommodation, it says.

Union Pushback

The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), which is the union for 250,000 meatpacking and food processing workers and includes 24,000 Tyson meatpacking workers across the country, says it has “serious concerns” about the vaccination mandate.

“UFCW is proud to say that we have high vaccination rates among our unionized food workers across the country, and as a result, we have helped reduce COVID-19 infection rates in many of our industries, including meatpacking. While we support and encourage workers getting vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, and have actively encouraged our members to do so, it is concerning that Tyson is implementing this mandate before the FDA has fully approved the vaccine,” says UFCW international president Marc Perrone.

 “As the union for Tyson meatpacking workers, UFCW has made clear that this vaccine mandate must be negotiated so that these workers have a voice in the new policy. UFCW will be meeting with Tyson in the coming weeks to discuss this vaccine mandate and to ensure that the rights of these workers are protected, and this policy is fairly implemented. We believe the FDA must provide full approval of the vaccines and help address some of the questions and concerns that workers have. Additionally, employers should provide paid time off so that their essential workers can receive the vaccine without having to sacrifice their pay and can rest as needed while their body adjusts to the vaccine and strengthens their immune system to fight off the virus," Perrone’s statement continues.

A memo from Tyson Foods president and CEO Donnie King to team members can be read here.

To date, Tyson Foods says it has spent more than $700 million related to COVID-19 mitigation, including buying personal protective equipment and temperature scanners, installing protective barriers and providing onsite testing and vaccinations. It also partnered with an independent medical provider to bring medical services onsite, hired an additional 200 nurses and its first chief medical officer, the release says. It has also spent time educating team members, in many languages, about the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccination.