Sooooo ….. what's the point?
If you're going to have a company mandate, and you threaten employees with their jobs if they don't comply, and then you back off the threat, what's the point?
My first thought is, it's oxymoronic.
In reality, it might be unethical.
But this is what is suddenly going on among some airlines over the mandate to vaccinate all workers, whether that was organically imposed like United, or whether it's in response to the Biden Administration order that any company that has a federal contract but vaccinate its employees.
First, the president of the American Airlines flight attendants union told his constituents that they are probably safe and won't be fired if they are still unvaccinated by the deadline for getting the shot. American set an internal deadline of November 24; the White House's deadline is December 8. American said it is "exploring accommodations that would allow employees to continue to work."
Now Southwest Airlines also will not fire its unvaccinated employees, CEO Gary Kelly said during the company's third-quarter earnings last week.
"We're not going to fire anybody who doesn't get vaccinated," Kelly said. "How we work through the people that don't get vaccinated or don't seek an accommodation, we're going to have to figure out and we're working with the government on that. It makes no sense that we would not respect that and find some way to work with our people on that."
Wait, what?
It makes no sense.
Let's be clear here - this is not a column about the pros and cons of getting a vaccine, this is not a column about taking a stance on the vaxxed vs. unvaxxed debate, this is not a column about personal freedoms.
But I will say this.
Let's say I was someone working for an airline who didn't want to get the vaccine. But my company demanded it and said my job, my livelihood, my family's well-being, would be the price to pay if I didn't comply. So I get the vaccine.
But weeks later, my CEO basically says, "Eh. It's OK. Don't get the vaccine. You won't be fired. We'll figure something out."
Sorry, but that would piss me off to no end.
And, sorry, but that's unethical.
You make a mandate, you need to enforce it. You can't come back later and change your mind. That's the kind of thing that divides companies.
And I'll tell you another thing. If anybody is still even thinking about a mandate for passengers to be vaccinated if they want to fly, forget it. There are a hundred reasons why that should never happen. Now there's 101 - it would be disingenuous.
If you're suddenly not going to demand that your employees get the shot, how could you possibly ask passengers to do so?
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