Washington State has been at the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak of COVID-19, but not everyone is sheltering-in-place.
The Seattle Times reported growing unrest amongst Boeing factory workers at the company’s Everett, Wash., facility, just outside of Seattle. That’s because jet assembly is reportedly still underway despite 14 Puget Sound-area Boeing workers testing positive for the virus. The Times says most of them work in the Everett compound.
Workers, most of whom have chosen to remain anonymous, described an environment where up to a thousand workers could be packed side-by-side assembling wire bundles for airplanes. They cited tight quarters for clocking out and exiting, tools being passed around, and spotty sanitizing of work stations. They even said that bathrooms have been out of hand sanitizer and paper towels.
One worker said she was concerned that if this continues, “Boeing is going to have a very large outbreak that this state will have a hard time containing.”
And despite the fact that the campus is 1,000 acres and contains around 200 separate buildings, workplace attendance seems to be dwindling. Unfortunately for those who need the paycheck, they feel their hands are tied. According to the Seattle Times' sources, if workers don’t feel safe, they’ve been instructed to use vacation or personal time — or go unpaid.
