Alaska Airlines Encourages Vaccinations with $200 Bonus for Employees
Alaska Airlines jumped on the vaccination incentive bandwagon this week, announcing in an online statement that they'd be rewarding staff who get jabbed by October 15th with a juicy $200 bonus. The Seattle-based airline aims to motivate more employees to roll up their sleeves, hoping to boost vaccination numbers among their nearly 20,000 team members.
The airline's announcement included other measures, too. They decided to hold the disbursement of the "COVID-19 bonus" for unvaccinated staff who call in sick due to exposure or infection. Non-vaccinated workers are also urged to join an "immunization education program" and follow a "testing protocol" as an additional safety measure.
New hires at both Alaska Airlines and its sister company, Horizon Airlines, must present proof of vaccination before boarding their first flight. Currently, approximately 75% of the workforce has been vaccinated, and the airline acknowledges that more needs to be done to elevate their staff's vaccination rates.
Alaska Airlines becomes the latest major U.S. carrier to introduce vaccination incentives since United Airlines led the way last month. United Airlines mandated that all staff get vaccinated, with exemptions granted for medical and religious reasons. However, no concrete incentives have been mentioned.
In an email to its employees, United stated, "We understand that some of you may not be in agreement with our decision to require vaccinations for all United employees. But our primary responsibility to you and your colleagues is to ensure your safety at work, and the facts are crystal clear: When everyone is vaccinated, we're all safer."
In contrast, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines have all publicly declared that they won't mandate vaccinations.
When it comes to incentives, Delta Air Lines is the only major U.S. airline that has implemented a penalty rather than an incentive. They've imposed a $200-per-month fee on unvaccinated employees to help offset costs for potential coronavirus hospital stays.
Air Canada, Porter Airlines, and WestJet Airlines haven't launched any vaccination incentives like free testing for unvaccinated employees. Instead, they've mandated full disclosure of employees' vaccination status. Non-vaccinated employees might face consequences like unpaid leave or termination.
