We've talked a bit lately about business leaders using heavy-handed election tactics, pressuring their employees to support Mitt Romney, apparently at the candidate's behest. A new example out of Wisconsin is one of the more striking cases to date.
Mike White, the chairman and owner of Rite-Hite, a major Milwaukee manufacturer of industrial equipment, told employees in an email this week that all employees "should understand the personal consequences to them of having our tax rates increase dramatically if President Obama is re-elected, forcing taxpayers to fund President Obama's future deficits and social programs (including Obamacare), which require bigger government."
The email stunned some employees. One employee said he felt threatened by the email. "It's a good company, but for this to come out, it's absurd," the employee said.
The employee said even supervisors were surprised by the tone of the email.
White's email said he didn't intend to "prejudice any employee," but nevertheless urged them to "think carefully."
As a substantive matter, it's worth noting that Rite-Hite owner appears confused about several key policy areas. White, for example, said his workers' personal income taxes would "increase dramatically" under a second term, which is at odds with all existing tax proposals. He also makes it sound as if it's impossible for a business to thrive with top marginal rates from the 1990s.
But even putting policy accuracy aside, it continues to be unnerving to find employers issuing vague threats about "personal consequences" to their employees. It is, as best as I can tell, legal, but the pressure and coercion from Romney allies -- who appear to be following Romney's own instructions -- is a bit much.
As The Atlantic's Adam Clark Estes recently put it, "It's not technically illegal for employers to tell their employees how to vote. That doesn't mean that it's ethical or understandable or even acceptable to connect people's livelihoods with their political beliefs. There's a fine line between an employer telling an employee, 'Vote Romney!' and a boss telling a subordinate, 'Vote Romney, or else!' At least, in the eyes of the inevitably subordinate employees there's not."
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Of all the years I've been following Presidential elections, this is the WORSE I've seen - negative ads that gone over the top and disgusting; the amount of $$ that can and is being spent on ads; the WILLFUL BOLD face lies and now the intimidation of employees -- What's next?
I guess the days are gone when many of the politicians thought of the word integrity and not desperation.
All in all it seems to me that they (politicians) main goal especially during election time is to rub s*o**e in voters' mouths, look directly in their faces, and tell them to swallow, that it is a sausage. No LIE!!
If someone put a flier in that business owner's mailbox saying "Mitt Romney wants to cut the number of firefighters. This is a nice house you've got here. It'd be a shame if anything happened to it. Before you vote, you should think carefully." I'm pretty sure he'd be calling for an investigation for voter intimidation.
How is this different?
Years ago (and I mean years ago, like the 1940s, when I first learned about voting) my Father told me that once you go into that voting booth you are alone and can vote for the man you feel is best suited.
He called himself a Democrat and a fence sitter, so I guess today he'd be considered middle-of-the-road. He was a man of integrity and I believe that there are many Americans of his quality around today. I have to believe that or else stop having faith in my country.
Actually, this IS illegal in Wisconsin. Wisconsin has a state statute (Wis. Stat. 12.07(3)) that makes this a crime. It's punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, 6 months in jail, or both (Wis. Stat. 12.60(1)(b)).
The Atlantic article you cite might apply in other states, but it is dead wrong when it comes to Wisconsin state law. Wisconsin residents can report this to the Government Accountability Board.
My dad grew up in a small Pennsylvania town, Bristol. Joseph Grundy owned the mills. Grundy, a Republican, was appointed senator in 1929 and served until 1930. My dad swore that Grundy told his employees how to vote and he had a strong dislike of Grundy until the end of his days. My dad worked in Grundy's mills in the late 1930's. It's amazing to see that that type of employer intimidation still exists today. I always thought that it was something that happened in the distant past.
The 1% ruling elite don't believe that laws apply to them and that they can do anything they want to do because they own the country.
Just a note, folks. The last time Republicans pulled this sort of thing on this level was in 1936 and how well did that work out?
Ans: Landon won 2 states, FDR was re-elected by the, til-then, largest majority ever. In the Senate Ds held 70+ out of 96 seats, and in the House, out of 435 seats, Rs held just over 100.
Here's hoping...
Uh!!! Unions actually TAKE your money disguised as dues and funnel it to candidates of their choosing whether you as the member like that candidate or not. So talking to your employees about candidates and the affects of their policies is less devious than that. I was forced into a teacher union for a while until our state became a right to work state and I got out of the union immediately. I could then donate to the candidate of my choice. Unions are much worse than the one boss making suggestions about who might be the better candidate and that one boss probably doesn't donate to a particular candidate to the tune of millions of dollars as the unions do.
I find the insinuation that these employers will actually find out how you voted to be the most alarming. I mean, yes, it's intimidation to tell your employees how to vote but to extrapolate from however the election goes the culpability of your employees in that outcome is to blame is mind blowing. Seriously.
AFSCME, the Union that forces me to pay dues, is using the money that they take out of MY pacheck to donate to the Obama campaign. Image if thhis man took money out of their paychecks and put it toward the Romney campaign. There would be an outcry. So look at the situation from both points of view. I do NOT want my dues to go to a campaign, yet it is...