Dozens of General Electric (GE) employees walked out of work in protest of coronavirus vaccine mandates on Thursday morning.
The protest took place at GE’s Greenville plant, as dozens of workers walked out. The demonstration grew, as “about 100 people” ended up gathering.
GE is subject to the federal government’s mandate, as President Biden has signed an executive order requiring federal contractors to be vaccinated.
“If you want to work with the federal government and do business with us, get vaccinated. If you want to do business with the federal government, vaccinate your workforce,” Biden said during his divisive coronavirus speech in September.
According to The State, the exact number of employees among the larger crowd of protesters was not immediately clear, as the group included older people, as well as children.
However, the outlet reported that “handfuls of people walked from the GE plant wearing blue uniforms, and some were seen in cars leaving the property.”
Speaking of the walkout, a spokesperson for GE maintained that the company will comply with Biden’s coercive mandate:
As a federal contractor, GE is complying with the executive order which requires employees of federal contractors to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. All GE U.S. employees will be fully vaccinated or receive a medical or religious accommodation by December 8th as required in the order.
According to the outlet, the spokesperson did not say whether the employees would face disciplinary action.
The walkout comes as the country awaits the OSHA rule, forcing businesses with over 100 employees to be vaccinated or undergo weekly testing.
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