'When you see mass firings, look at the bigger story': Biden appears to DEFEND the unvaccinated losing their jobs and says Americans who haven't got the shot are damaging the economy
Joe Biden said Thursday the 'bigger story' isn't that thousands of people are losing their jobs, but that the new mandates are increasing the percentage of Americans in the workforce who are vaccinated against COVID-19.
'These requirements work,' Biden lauded during a speech at a Clayco construction site in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.
The new Executive Order mandates that all businesses with at least 100 employees require those workers to provide proof of vaccination or be subject to compulsory weekly testing.
While these new rules have not been implemented yet by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Biden said that the Labor Department is going through the appropriate steps to put the order in place.
The new rule, Biden said on Thursday, would 'cover 100 million Americans, about two-thirds of all the people working in America.'
'Let's be clear, when you see headlines and reports of mass firings and hundreds of people losing their jobs, look at the bigger story,' the president added, claiming that the 'bigger story' is that more employees in the workforce are vaccinated.
President Joe Biden spoke at a Clayco construction site, in Elk Grove Village, Illinois on Thursday to promote his new Executive Order mandating private companies to require their employees be vaccinated
After touring the site, Biden told a crowd that the 'bigger story' isn't that thousands of people are losing their jobs, but that the new mandates are increasing the percentage of Americans in the workforce who are vaccinated against COVID-19
'I've spoken with Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, who's here today,' Biden said as an example. 'United went from 59 per cent of their employees to 99 per cent of their employees [being vaccinated] in less than two months after implementing the requirement.'
He also said that private business leaders felt emboldened by federal-level requirements for military and government workers to now also demand that their employees are also vaccinated to be able to remain in the American workforce.
'As the business roundtable and others told me when I announced the first requirement, that encourages businesses to feel they could come in and demand the same thing of their employees,' Biden said. 'More people are getting vaccinated – more lives are being saved.'
Although the order has not been implemented, many companies have already started to comply to get ahead of it and hundreds to thousands of Americans are losing their jobs because they refuse to get vaccinated.
'Today, I'm calling on employers to act,' Biden said.
'I know the vaccination requirements are a tough medicine – unpopular with some, politics for others. But they're lifesaving. They're game saving for our country.'
Biden then made a cheeky remark about right-leaning network Fox News, using his new signature of whispering into the microphone to emphasize his point.
At one point Biden leaned into the microphone and whispered a joke about Fox News requiring their employees to get vaccinated. 'Even – this I always get a kick out of – Fox News. Fox News requires vaccinations for all employees. Give me a break – Fox News'
'Even – this I always get a kick out of – Fox News. Fox News requires vaccinations for all employees,' Biden said.
He quipped: 'Give me a break – Fox News.'
Earlier on Thursday, Biden was greeted by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot as he stepped off of Air Force One in Illinois.
He left D.C. while lawmakers have still yet to reach a deal on the trillions of dollars of spending included in the budget and infrastructure packages.
When a reporter yelled a question at President Biden about whether he supported raising the debt ceiling, he smiled before shaking hands with Chicago Mayor Lightfoot.
Before getting into the car, Biden crossed his fingers toward the cameras in the press corps as Congress works toward a deal on two major funding bills.
Biden toured a Clayco construction site in Elk Grove Village on Thursday before his speech to promote his Order mandating private companies require their workers to provide proof of vaccination.
The trip was delayed last month so he could stay in D.C. to work toward brokering a deal on the budget and infrastructure packages, which are still not passed.
It is still unclear when Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which falls under the Department of Labor and has the authority to issue the workplace vaccine mandate, is going to fully implement Biden's order.
The order, if implemented, will likely impact 100 million working Americans in the midst of a U.S. workers' shortage that has some companies pleading for applicants with incentives and bonuses.
Biden flashed a smile and crossed his fingers toward the press pool on Thursday as he landed in Chicago as Congress still works toward a deal on the budget and infrastructure packages
The president was greeted by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot as he landed in Illinois to promote his new vaccine mandate for companies with 100 or more employees
When a reporter yelled a question at President Biden about whether he supported raising the debt ceiling, he smiled before shaking hands with Chicago Mayor Lightfoot
A Wall Street Journal op-ed earlier this week details that the mandate is essentially 'nonexistent' because it has not actually been implemented but is 'effective at compelling industries and companies into compliance, as it leaves room for any eventual issuance to target noncompliant entities.'
'This implied cudgel is particularly effective on industries and companies that are dependent on federal spending or the goodwill of federal regulators,' the editorial continues. 'The nonexistent mandate also allows so-inclined state and local governments and companies to issue their own mandates, seemingly in lockstep with Washington.'
Some companies have already started requiring employees to provide proof of vaccination or have given timelines for workers to get the jab – or jabs.
President Joe Biden is heading to a suburb of Chicago, Illinois on Thursday to promote his new vaccinate mandate for workers at companies with at least 100 employees
The mandate will likely affect 100 million U.S. workers as the frequency in which Americans were getting the jab plummeted over the summer and remains in that range
The president salutes as he boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Thursday as he departs for Elk Grove Village, Illinois where he will will tour and speak at a Clayco construction site
When issuing the order in early September, Biden wrote: 'The health and safety of the Federal workforce, and the health and safety of members of the public with whom they interact, are foundational to the efficiency of the civil service.'
He planned to go to a Chicago suburb last week to promote the new order, but canceled the trip last minute to remain in Washington, D.C. as congressional Democrats fought over the budget package.
Biden met with Democratic Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona last week to attempt to bring their number up to meet the rest of the party.
They were not convinced and the package still remains in limbo.
Biden isn't sticking around this time to try and help through the rift.
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