We Believe in Liberty
We believe that we are all born with natural, God-given rights, and that foremost among these rights are liberty and personal choice. We believe that no one should be coerced into receiving a COVID-19 vaccine or divulging private medical data under the threat of losing his or her job.
IBM Employees
Against COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates
On October 7, 2021, IBM announced that all U.S. employees must obtain vaccination against COVID-19 and comply with all criteria set forth by IBM to be deemed “fully-vaccinated” to retain employment at IBM. All non-compliant employees -- those who do not upload vaccine validation or receive an approved medical or religious accommodation -- will be placed on an unpaid leave of absence in "mid-January."
In response, concerned employees drafted a petition and submitted it with 348 signatures to Arvind Krishna (CEO) on November 1st. This petition was rejected on November 4th. This petition was electronically submitted with 541 signatures to the IBM Board of Directors on November 15th -- and resubmitted by mail on November 18th -- but still, no meaningful response has been received. Currently, more than 600 IBM employees have signed the petition, but our concerns have gone unanswered. After patiently and judiciously exhausting all internal avenues, we are making our story public.
While others are following increasingly unlawful vaccine mandates, we believe that IBM has an opportunity to lead the industry -- as it has for more than 100 years -- and remove its mandate. It is our hope that shining a public light on our story will bring about the end of IBM's COVID-19 vaccine mandate and show others that they are not alone. Whether it is at IBM or anywhere else, we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with those opposing medical tyranny and injustice through COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Our Story
- Nov. 1: Submitted petition with 348 signatures to Arvind Krishna (CEO)
- Nov. 4: Petition rejected by Arvind
- Nov. 15: Petition sent electronically to the IBM Board of Directors with 541 signatures
- Nov. 18: Petition resubmitted by mail to the IBM Board of Directors
- Dec. 8: Open letter published to the public
Kierkegaard drew his point -- you can make wild ducks tame, but you can never make tame ducks wild again. One might also add that the duck who is tamed will never go anywhere any more. We are convinced that any business needs its wild ducks. And in IBM we try not to tame them.
Thomas Watson, Jr.
IBM President, 1952-1971