http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50364-2004May23.html"At Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., a suggestion from chief executive E. Stanley O'Neal is not to be taken lightly.
O'Neal eliminated 24,000 jobs, froze pay and steadily pushed out competitors for executive power, including colleagues who had championed his rise up the corporate ladder. "Ruthless," O'Neal has reportedly told colleagues, "isn't always bad."
So it came as no surprise that when O'Neal sent letters to senior executives at Merrill Lynch in early June asking them to contribute to President Bush's reelection campaign, the response was prompt and generous."
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The article goes on to describe how this is simply one example of what is happening all over Wall Street.
Since contributions are public it is easy for a boss to know whether the employee "voluntarily" contributed.
It's a pretty outrageous system, imho.