Four West Tennessee legislators have sent a letter to Tyson Foods asking them to reconsider its recent mandate requiring a COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment for their workers.
State Rep. Rusty Grills posted the letter to his Facebook page this morning. Other legislators signing the letter are Rep. Tandy Darby, Senator Ed Jackson and Rep. Chris Todd.
Dated August 19, the letter is addressed to Dean Banks, CEO of Tyson Foods at Springdale, Arkansas.
The letter informs Banks that they represent West Tennessee where Tyson operates three major plants–in Humboldt, Union City and Newbern.
The letter reminds Banks that Tyson recently mandated that all employees must be vaccinated as a term of their continued employment.
“This decision greatly upset a large number of Tyson employees in our tight-knit community,” the letter reads. “We’re firm believers in the effectiveness of vaccines” and believe it is an important tool in the fight against COVID, according to the letter.
But the legislators state they feel a mandate forcing persons to take a vaccine, medicine or undergo a medical procedure against their will “is morally problematic.”
The letter “respectfully asks” Tyson Foods to reconsider the mandate and “honor every American’s God-given right to governance over their bodies.” The further states, “Our constituents overwhelmingly feel devalued as your employees but also as human beings by what they see as a blatant disregard of their personal rights and values.”