Chattanooga Chamber Continues Push For Business Members To Prioritize Vaccines

Photo: Downtown Chattanooga, viewed from Lookout Mountain; Photo Credit: Thomsonmg2000 / CC

Several months ago and prior to the Federal Mandate, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce launched their program “Healthy Chattanooga Coalition” to “more strongly incentivize vaccine use among workers and increase vaccination rates” across Chattanooga’s employers.

Their stated goal is to see a minimum 60% vaccination rate in Chattanooga and Hamilton County by December 1, 2021, according to their website.

News Channel 9 reports that the Chamber is trying to be a “leader in vaccinations.”

Vice President of the Chattanooga Chamber, Justin Groenert said, “It’s a tough fight. Obviously, vaccinations have become far more political than I think they should be at this point.”

According to the Chamber, members of the Healthy Chattanooga Coalition are encouraged to participate in the Vaccination Tiers at a level that “meets the individual needs of the organization.”

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Tier 1 participants must agree that they will encourage all their employees to get vaccinated and provide support to their employees throughout the process.

Tier 2 participants must agree that they will incentivize employees to get vaccinated in some way and provide support to their employees throughout the process.

Tier 3 participants must agree that they will require all employees to be vaccinated.

The Chamber also encourages employers to “take other actions as appropriate, such as temporarily closing offices for deep cleaning, or offering additional incentives to employees.”

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The Chamber lists their member businesses that are participating in each tier and the participants are fairly expansive.

Tier 1 participants that “encourage” their employees to get vaccinated include: 

  • Applied Thermal Coatings
  • Baker Donelson
  • Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C.
  • Chamber Welding & Fabrication Corp
  • Chattanooga State Community College
  • Cleaning Solutions, LLC
  • The Company Lab
  • Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Chattanooga
  • Creative Discovery Museum
  • Design Print Promote
  • New York Life
  • One to One Health
  • Rise Partners
  • River City Company
  • RockPoint Bank, N.A.
  • Sandler Training
  • The Sasha Group
  • Tennessee Men’s Health Network
  • University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
  • Unum

Tier 2 participants that “incentivize” their employees to get vaccinated include: 

  • Astec
  • BASF Corporation
  • (be)caffeinated
  • BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee
  • CBL Properties, Inc
  • Cempa Community Care
  • Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce
  • Chattanooga Gas
  • Elder’s Ace Hardware
  • First Horizon Bank
  • FreightWaves
  • Galen Medical Group
  • HomeServe USA
  • Idealease of Chattanooga
  • Kenco Logistics
  • Lee-Smith, Inc
  • Lodge Cast Iron
  • LYNC Logistics
  • MurMaid Mattress
  • NAI Charter
  • Parkridge Health System
  • Plaza Uniform
  • Tennessee Aquarium
  • Thompson Engineering, Inc.
  • U.S. Xpress Enterprises, Inc.
  • Vision Hospitality Group, Inc
  • Volkswagen Group of America Chattanooga Operations
  • Wingard Quality Supply
  • WTCI

Tier 3 participants that require their employees to get vaccinated include: 

  • A-1 Barricades
  • Bridge Financial Planning, LLC
  • Chicken-w-Bones
  • CHI Memorial
  • Claridy Communications
  • The Enterprise Center
  • Husch Blackwell LLP
  • Izell Marketing Group
  • Latitude Advisors, LLC
  • McCallie School
  • Partnership for Families, Children and Adults
  • Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center
  • Thinking Media
  • Zi Olive on the North Shore

One of the Tier 2 members of the “Health Chattanooga Coalition” – BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee – apparently ramped up their commitment to vaccinations beyond the agreement with the Chamber by requiring proof of vaccination by all employees (remote employees included).

According to our source, this action has put at least 800 Tennesseans out of work.

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About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative  ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career.  Most recently, he served as Deputy Directory for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others.  He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History.  Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com

4 thoughts on “Chattanooga Chamber Continues Push For Business Members To Prioritize Vaccines

  • November 8, 2021 at 6:34 pm
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    Well thanks for sending the names of the buisnesses that are forcing their people to get vacc. We will be sure NOT TO USE THOSE BUSINESS. WE WILL MAKE SURE THIS GET TO EVERYONE I KNOW

    Reply
  • November 8, 2021 at 6:36 pm
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    Where does the Chamber get the idea they have the power to do such a thing? Every business should quit the chamber and demand their money back they paid them. This is why I will NEVER live in any city.

    Reply
  • November 9, 2021 at 4:51 pm
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    BCBS has already sent the mandate to all employees.. they changed the telecommuters job descriptions to include them in the mandate.. they are trolling social media and emails to representatives and terminating those who comment to either.. they have accepted Zero requests for exemptions… Also terminated many employees in a “reorg’ at the same time.. will they start denying claims as well?

    Reply
  • November 9, 2021 at 8:35 pm
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    tennessee is looking like delaware and i thought tennessee was a conservative state was planning on moving there but looking somewhere else

    Reply

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