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catman
Joined: 18 Jul 2004
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 Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 9:06 pm Post subject: Koch Brothers Rounding Up Employees' Votes |
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An investigation out Sunday from Mike Elk at In These Times reveals how brothers David H. Koch and Charles G. Koch, the Koch Industries owners, are taking full advantage of the Citizens United ruling in attempting to control their workers� votes.
The findings highlight a lesser talked about effect of the 2010 Citizens United ruling. "The Supreme Court decision overturned previous FEC laws prohibiting employers from expressing electoral opinions directly to their employees," Elk writes.
Elk found that the conservative duo sent a mailing to 45,000 employees at Koch Industries subsidiary Georgia Pacific this month. In the mailing, President and Chief Operating Officer Dave Robertson wrote a thinly veiled threat that "many of our more than 50,000 employees" may "suffer the consequences" if the wrong president is elected. The mailing also included an anti-Obama editorial by Charles Koch, a pro-Romney editorial by David Koch, and a list of Koch-endorsed candidates.
The company further exercised its control this, Elk found, by implementing a new social media policy in which employees cannot post anything that might go against the Georgia Pacific "brand" or reputation.
�Even if I was at my own home, I can�t put something up [on Facebook] against the Koch Brothers,� AWWPW Local 5 President Jim Pierce, who works at Georgia Pacific paper mill, in Camas, Washington, told In These Times. �I don�t post anything about the Koch Brothers. I could lose my job.�
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Spartacist
Joined: 18 Feb 2012
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 5:34 pm Post subject: |
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| The "free" market in action. |
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visitorq
Joined: 11 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 5:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Who cares about the Koch brothers. They have no influence on anything. |
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sirius black
Joined: 04 Jun 2010
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| Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 2:19 am Post subject: |
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| what? Tens of billions in net worth buys you an incredible amount of influence |
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visitorq
Joined: 11 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 11:35 am Post subject: |
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| sirius black wrote: |
| what? Tens of billions in net worth buys you an incredible amount of influence |
Nonsense. There are far bigger players than them (like pretty well all of Wall Street, which the Koch bros. aren't really a part of). They barely even show up on the radar in terms of political influence. The Koch bros. are a sideshow distraction for people who have no idea about what's really going on in the world. |
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Kuros
Joined: 27 Apr 2004
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| Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2012 6:58 pm Post subject: |
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Can your boss really tell you who to vote for? The answer is probably yes -- depending on where you live, and assuming you're employed in the private sector.
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Basically, employers have freedom of speech. That means they can say what they want, including strongly suggesting that employees vote for candidates and sending sample ballots to them. Your boss can't walk into the voting booth with you, and she can't pay you to vote for a particular candidate, but often there's little else he or she can't do.
In most states, at least. Some have stronger laws than others. |
Employers can say what they want on the company dime. Fine. I don't see any reason why employees should listen to them. In fact, at many concerns, the employees should identify who the employer wants them to vote for, and then begin looking seriously at the other candidates. |
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