Private employers in Oregon are starting to jump on the vaccine mandate for their employees.
Source: Vaccine Mandates Are Coming to the Nike Campus Near You
Nike’s China issues are considerable and have led to worries by analysts who evaluate the stock market. An issue that isn’t being considered when it comes to Nike is their most important city, Memphis. Anyone who understands the sneaker industry realizes the importance of Memphis to Nike. The distribution of the company takes place in the home of the Blues. The city is located in Shelby County, which is only 50.41% vaccinated. According to employees, company stores are closing early during January and management is worried about when the mandate for employees to be vaccinated begins in February. The same mandates will take effect in Nike’s multiple distribution centers as well. Nike’s Memphis locations handle Swoosh account orders and the various facilities are involved in logistics for the company.
Follow up: Nike isn’t making it mandatory for their Memphis warehouses. The employees there will have to be tested weekly. Nike is straddling the line in a very difficult moment. Memphis is a majority Black demographic. The majority of the employees in the warehouses are Black. Shelby County has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the state and in the country. Nike could set a precedent by offering an incentive to employees here in Memphis and it could have a trickle down effect throughout the city. As much as the Swoosh likes to tout their support of the Black community, avoiding a vaccine mandate to prevent their distribution from slowing to a crawl is an uncomfortable business decision that is waiting to be called out, when the company has placed a mandate on their corporate offices where many of the employees are White. I’ve always wondered where Nike’s cracks are. It’s becoming apparent it’s in their decision making when it comes to the 3,200 employees in their Memphis distribution centers.
