At 9:30 am on the rainy morning of November 3, Lockheed Martin employees rallied together in front of their Fort Worth workplace to protest the current government vaccine mandate.
Despite the gloomy weather, approximately 40-50 protesters turned out for the event, including friends and family members of the employees.
The rally was organized in response to President Biden’s executive order requiring mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for federal contractors and employees. Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company and a federal contractor.
Both vaccinated and unvaccinated protesters attended the rally, advocating for the right to choose medical treatment. “We feel like our voices aren’t being heard,” said Sherie Cort, an attendee at the rally. “We shouldn’t be forced to do something with our bodies that we don’t want to do.”
As reported by Texas Scorecard, one rally organizer stated: “We are a group of concerned employees and believe this is an issue of extreme government overreach that, if not addressed, is going to have much larger implications than many people realize right now.”
The rally began with a prayer, followed by the playing of the national anthem. Various participants gave bold and impassioned speeches, while the overall peaceful group displayed signs such as “Stop Medical Tyranny!” and “COVID-1984”.
The energy was electric as the group repeatedly chanted, “USA! USA!” Passers-by cheered them on, honking their car horns in support.
The Fort Worth Police Department kept watch from across the street, urging people not to come near the Lockheed building. The rally was peaceful and organized as the crowd stayed to themselves, held their signs, and listened to the speakers, their spirits undampened by the cold, damp weather of the day.
Lockheed Martin has over 23,000 employees in Texas that are affected by the vaccine mandate and over 114,000 worldwide.
