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Every four years we get a trickle of stories about workplace intimidation over the election. Either a corporation’s CEO tells its workers to vote for a particular candidate, or they stuff propaganda in with their paycheck or in a company newsletter, or they simply say that they’ll have to fire workers if the “wrong” candidate wins. This kind of thing is probably as old as the US election process itself; the Gilded Age is filled with stories of this nature, of company functionaries punching ballots for their workers, and the like.
What we don’t usually hear every four years is the voice of one of the candidates basically encouraging this strategy to business leaders.
In a June 6, 2012 conference call posted on the anti-union National Federation of Independent Business’s website, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney instructed employers to tell their employees how to vote in the upcoming election.
Romney was addressing a group of self-described “small-business owners.” Twenty-six minutes into the call, after making a lengthy case that President Obama’s first term has been bad for business, Romney said:
“I hope you make it very clear to your employees what you believe is in the best interest of your enterprise and therefore their job and their future in the upcoming elections. And whether you agree with me or you agree with President Obama, or whatever your political view, I hope, I hope you pass those along to your employees.”
I guess the end of that statement makes it OK for business owners to tell their employees how to vote. Hey, it’s nonpartisan! But while this kind of workplace political pressure may be nominally legal, especially after Citizens United (hey, it’s just free speech), it’s incredibly shady, and it doesn’t reflect well on the candidate encouraging it.
But I’m sad about this for another reason. This comes from In These Times, a small magazine on the left which has broken a number of stories about workplace political pressure this election season. Here’s another one from just this week, about Koch Indsutries sending pro-corporate propaganda to 45,000 workers in a mailing.
But In These Times lost their grant that funds journalism like this, and the reporters who broke this and other stories have already seen pay cuts to continue their work. Exposing corporate malfeasance and labor intimidation just isn’t all that lucrative. And the progressive movement funding has simply turned away from economic issues. It’s all very depressing.
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Was this specifically covered under Citizens United, or was it only referenced? The Supreme Court actually say that employers could intimidate and/or then follow through on the threat if the employees voted against the employers wishes? I don’t see how they would do that. It would fall under vote buying.
We have secret ballot elections, fortunately. Employers won’t know how their employees voted.
Furthur evidence that the 1% are both R’s and D’s playing both sides and the middle. Where are the fabulously wealthy progressives and why don’t they own ABC or CNN . Al Gore’s current TV is for entertainment purposes only and the content is within the boundaries of maintaining the status quo and protecting the uber wealthy. Precious little difference between rich Al Gore or Bill Clinton and rich Mike Bloomberg or David Koch. I am struck by how much information I can receive without the MSM confusing me with cleverly disguised propaganda from sources on the internet. Mubarak completely controlled the MSM in Egypt but had no control of the internet. I fear for the loss of this medium to people who are truthseekers and fact checkers.
I wonder how In These Times employees voted?
Shhhhhhhhhhhhh!
I wonder why you waste our time?
So what?
Agree, let’s just do one story per day on both candidates and call it the Rombama Twins update. One will take your SS and Medicare and laugh and the other will take them and seem all saddy faced.
To Willard’s superlatives of characterless and unprincipled.
Add incredibly shady.
All apply to his running mate Petey as well.
It’s possible he gets paid to. :)
Doesn’t bother you guys that the 2-3% who control most of the money are slowly taking over and reading us our rights?
Bingo! Let’s just have stories that matter rather than Kabuki Theatre. I expect Obama to disappear Stein and Honkala if they get major exposure.
They already took over. It was a bloodless coup that began decades ago.
I want to know what is happening from a factual standpoint but this R is up O is down, win, lose, poll mania is all crap.
(FunMe post at America blog under story about Mitt’s and Tagg’s ties to Ponzi scheme. Another Bain Capital, hide-the-money, pay-no-taxes, horror story).
To give you an idea of some other shenanigans Romney and his BAIN company have been involved in, check this story from a friend. And I quote:
“I stumbled on this … I was checking on something from Hartmann Luggage … once a family owned business outside of Nashville. I discovered that the family had sold the company to a Private Equity (PE) firm several years ago. In spring 2012, the PE firm sold the firm to Samonsite, SA. I notices some strange citations on Samonsite … like traded on HK Exchange … and the SA designation. So I decided to check what happened to Samsonite. Well, a simple Google search and: In 2003, Samsonite was acquired by Bain Capital, several other similar firms and individual investors who also were affiliated with the acquiring capital firms … one of whom was Mitt Romney. US employment was reduced to 203 people … and they were moved to Boston … and Mitt claimed he brought Samsonite to Boston. An operational company was created and based in Hong Kong. The company was delisted from NYSE, London Stock Exchange, and is only traded in Hong Kong. In short, the company is no longer subject to US or European securities regulation…”
No wonder Mitt Romney is too scared to release over a decade of his federal income tax returns, and cherry-picks the couple of years he did. Romney doesn’t belong anywhere near the White House, nor any other elected office ever again. And yet, some Republicans are obsessed with getting him elected president, specifically all the conservative billionaire backing him, even though Romney, if elected, would make the Bush/Cheney years look tame in comparison, with Romney eventually destroying our democracy, our economy, the lives of tens of millions of American citizens and their families. But what does he care?
Bingo.
If Willard gets elected the USA will be rebranded Mormon, Inc.
Oh,and if you need a job, you better join the church, err company. Automatic 10% increase in taxes though.
Alan1tx would love it if you did, I’m sure. As would his preferred candidate, the Mormon guy.
See also this piece on how the LDS makes a mockery of separation of church and state. The only Mormon politicians nowadays who don’t toe the LDS line are the ones who are Democrats; the Republicans jump when the First Presidents say “Jump!” (This is probably why 70% of Mormons are Republicans and only 19% are Democrats.)
Wonder if the pay cuts at In These Times explains Mike Elk’s increasing embrace of Mark Ames and The EXile(d)?
I wonder what the Christian Right will say when Romney appoints a Mormon to the Supreme Court? I can just see that last bit of sanity slipping away.
Exactly!
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
A century ago, it was “If (insert name of a Democrat) wins on Tuesday, don’t bother coming to work on Wednesday.”
The counter to that was unions that protect workers, but, for whatever reason, the Democratic Party let Republicans bust unions.
For six months it was “he’s not qualified and he’s a scary Mormon”, after the first debate it’s “he’s a scary Mormon”.
Discrimination Based on Religion, Race or Sexual Orientation is not very progressive.