Officials with the Ford Motor Company reportedly dislike plans that the Republican-led Tennessee General Assembly have made to block President Joe Biden’s COVD-19 vaccine mandates for private employers.
This, according to the Nashville-based FOX 17, which reported the news and quoted a spokeswoman for Governor Bill Lee on Friday.
“We have heard from a number of businesses, including Ford and other (manufacturers), regarding concerns with proposals and encouraged them to reach out to legislators directly,” Lee spokeswoman Laine Arnold reportedly told FOX 17.
The station reported that Republican lawmakers want to prohibit “a wide range of COVID-19 restrictions, particularly mask mandates and vaccine requirements.”
“In just three days, the General Assembly’s actions have sparked alarm among the business community, with the National Federation of Independent Business warning that their proposals could hinder the ‘very survival’ of vulnerable businesses,” FOX 17 reported.
The station also quoted Ford CEO Jim Farly, who reportedly said he was “really excited about the mandate.”
Ford officials are scheduled to start work immediately on a new project in Tennessee. The project encompasses 3,600 acres of the 4,100-acre Memphis mega site that will house Ford’s electric F-Series of trucks and SK Innovation battery manufacturing.
Tennessee legislators approved $884 million in spending and creating a Mega site Authority of West Tennessee board to oversee operations.
“This is the largest single economic investment in rural Tennessee’s history,” Lee said upon its approval.
“It is, most importantly, a win for western Tennessee’s workforce.”
State Representative Terri Lynn Weaver (R-Lancaster) told The Tennessee Star Report on Thursday that she voted against incentivizing the private company.
“It was a political stampede. Who’s not for jobs, jobs, jobs. I’m very much for economic development so people can provide for their families,” Weaver said.
“It’s a blessing to have a job. It’s a good indication that you’re doing things right in the landscape here in the state.”
Weaver later listed what she said were the reasons that people relocate to Tennessee from other states.
“We have made a landscape here in Tennessee that literally when I talk to folks and I find they moved here from California, from New York, and across the country. And I said, well, why did you pick Tennessee? And inevitably, it’s about, well, we did research. We found out you’re a low tax state. We like your values. We like what you stand for,” Weaver said.
“Of course, not to mention the beautiful landscape and the lush trees, yadda, yadda. But people move here, and they do the research, and they move here because their buck can be more.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
