Has any official at your job ever told you how to vote?

[ColbertWatcher]

Has any manager, human resources representative or random vice president ever mentioned during a mandatory meeting or semi-anonymous memo how you as an employee, voter, citizen or consumer should vote, feel or otherwise consider any political issue or impending proposition or bill?

(I think I covered everything)

I was reading this thread and it reminded me of the Wal-Mart crap. Then I thought, "how common is this behavior?" Because when I went to see the Kaiser, one of the random morans behind the desk also tried to push the "socialized medicine is bad" bullshit on me.

So, my fellow DUers, Has any official at your job ever told you how to vote?

Also, if you vote "yes", please indicate which issue was pushed.

Thank you.

[lonestarnot]

1. LOL! They would KNOW better with me, even if they didn't KNOW better.

:D

[Amy6627]

2. I work for a large public University and when there are any propositions

on the ballot that relates to support of higher education we get a memo from the president saying why we should support the measure. But it never feels like pressure.

[ColbertWatcher]

4. Do you feel like you can disregard the advice? n/t

[Amy6627]

5. Yes, definitely.

[ColbertWatcher]

7. Do you feel like you could write an "opposition" piece? n/t

[Amy6627]

26. Probably, but usually always vote for anything that supports public

education. But if they were asking me to vote for something I was opposed to in these times I'm not sure if I would speak up in opposition. I definitely would have pre-bushco.

[Selatius]

3. That would be illegal. They know it, so they make "suggestions" and use coercion.

I know a little bit about business law, and you can't condition a person's employment on how they vote. It's a violation of labor laws, so they have to find non-explicit ways to get you to comply. It's been illegal since the 1930s with the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Wagoner Act.

[treestar]

6. It would prove you work for morans, because once the curtain

is closed, there is no way they can know how you voted.

I had one employer that wanted us to vote a particular way on a particular proposition, but we could see how it impacted the business, so our interests were the same.

[sinkingfeeling]

8. Not directly. But it was certainly evident by which candidate toured our plants and several

'management-level' discussions of business taxes, Equal Employment, etc.

[ColbertWatcher]

10. Yup, just like poster #3 said, they can't come right out and say it. n/t

[Breeze54]

9. Other: 5 term Congressman-priest Drinan came to my job and asked for my vote.

Congressman-priest Drinan dies

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/01/29/congressman_priest_drinan_dies/

Mass. Jesuit, 86, served five terms in House

By Mark Feeney, Globe Staff | January 29, 2007

The Rev. Robert F. Drinan , who left Boston College's administration to become the first Roman
Catholic priest elected to Congress and who in 1973 filed the initial impeachment resolution
against President Richard M. Nixon, died yesterday at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C.

He was 86.

snip-->

"Father Drinan was a forever gentle, resilient, tenacious advocate for social justice and fundamental
decency," said Senator John F. Kerry, who was Father Drinan's campaign manager in 1970.

"He lived out in public life the whole cloth of Catholic teachings. In the most divisive days of
Vietnam when things were coming apart, this incredible man and most unlikely of candidates showed
America how a man of faith could be a man of peace."

A five-term member of the House of Representatives, Father Drinan was one of its most liberal
members.

His strong anti administration stands earned him a place on the Nixon "enemies list."

His upset victory over US Representative Philip J. Philbin , a 14-term incumbent who was vice chairman
of the House Armed Services Committee, in the 1970 Democratic primary in Massachusetts Third Congressional
District was a high-water mark in the New Politics, which brought the antiwar movement to the ballot box.

more...

--------

He was one of my hero's! ;)

[ColbertWatcher]

12. He asked for your vote and you got him killed!!!1!

Was it a voodoo doll, or just the power of your mind that did him in?

[Breeze54]

15. Nixon probably reached out for him from the grave! -- I couldn't vote in 1970....

but I did vote for him in 1972 !!

[TornadoTN]

11. It's happened to me, but they know where I stand

It used to be an area of contention around the office, but I haven't backed down once and still enthusiastically and unequivocally support my candidates and party. We've had good conversations about issues around the office once the ice was broken and they realized I wasn't going to blow up or sue them. Might have even changed a few hearts and minds along the way - I know of two people who are less outspoken but are die-hard Democrat now.

It's all in how you handle it. If you have thick skin and a quick sense of wit, it can usually work in your favor. I've even had the Governor of our state tour our facility twice and talk to our workers!

[Swamp Rat]

13. "It's all in how you handle it."

A thick skin and a sense of humor are qualities needed to handle situations like yours. :thumbsup:

[ColbertWatcher]

14. Without revealing too much ...

... can you say what industry you're in?

Or a little about the type of job it is?

Why would the governor tour the place?

[TornadoTN]

19. Certainly

We're in the manufacturing industry - one of the few left in this neck of woods, so to speak. We make equipment for many different industries, but energy and environmental fields are our bread and butter.

I'm in executive management - most of the people I work with are Republicans, mostly due to a lifetime of being told they were one and some due to the fact that they fall into the "rich" bracket that don't like to give money to anyone other than themselves.

Our workers are a mixed bag - all blue collar skilled workers. Non-union. Some are Republican because of history and some are Republicans because of social issues that tend to resonate in the more conservative areas of the state, other than that they should be Democrats. Then there are the traditional Democrats who don't speak out much but they are there. They are a minority, but not by much. I would say its a 70/40 mix.

The Governor toured our facility because of some of the initiatives that he has promoted in the state with regards to manufacturing and environmental policy. It was a great experience.

[ColbertWatcher]

20. I wonder why they would push their agenda then?

Was it because they assumed everyone already agreed?

They didn't know the law? Didn't care about the law?

I'm glad they stopped and you were able to speak your mind, but damn. What would make them think they could have done it in the first place?

[TornadoTN]

21. Arrogance and Age mainly

Keep in mind, I'm 29 - most of my coworkers are in their 50's and 60's, most are not college educated (to be fair, they worked hard to get where they are today). There's a large shift in political thought among the younger generation, something that my area of the state is still struggling to come to terms with. Democrats used to be a very quiet minority - the sacrificial lamb if you will. But we're gaining numbers and power, coming into our own in business and industry, law and medicine, and making our impact known and felt up and down the chain. It's new - they weren't ready for it and old habits die hard.

I don't think they knew any better - it was just a way of life and something they always did. Not until some of us started questioning it and showing that there are other viewpoints that need to be considered. It wasn't easy at first, but I think it was a good experience for us all.

[ljm2002]

16. Some time ago...

...I worked for a large software firm. One of their financial directors sent an email to all employees in California, telling us how we should vote on a ballot initiative.

I responded to his email telling him that no way should he be telling us how to vote. I said I was perfectly capable of deciding on my own how to vote, and this is America, where people aren't supposed to do that stuff. He replied with some weasel-worded bs. about his "fiduciary duty to the company" ... I sent back a reply saying, you know it's okay to make the suggestion somewhere on the company web site -- nothing wrong with the company taking a position and making it known if they want to. But it is outright wrong to send an email to your employees telling them how they ought to vote on an issue.

I never got a reply to that last email. But in the 3 or 4 more years that I worked there, I never again saw an email telling us how to vote.

[ColbertWatcher]

18. "fiduciary duty to the company"

LOL! His "fiduciary duty to the company" may be to not get sued for telling employees how to vote!

[ljm2002]

17. Some time ago...

...I worked for a large software firm. One of their financial directors sent an email to all employees in California, telling us how we should vote on a ballot initiative.

I responded to his email telling him that no way should he be telling us how to vote. I said I was perfectly capable of deciding on my own how to vote, and this is America, where people aren't supposed to do that stuff. He replied with some weasel-worded bs. about his "fiduciary duty to the company" ... I sent back a reply saying, you know it's okay to make the suggestion somewhere on the company web site -- nothing wrong with the company taking a position and making it known if they want to. But it is outright wrong to send an email to your employees telling them how they ought to vote on an issue.

I never got a reply to that last email. But in the 3 or 4 more years that I worked there, I never again saw an email telling us how to vote.

[Bluzmann57]

22. No and if they did, I'd turn them in

And I even work for a company which has a Bush or seven controlling things. No, not anything to do with gwb. All companies in the corporate entity I work for are Unionized and we just do our work. My bosses will not tell me who I can or cannot vote for. And my views are well known around the plant anyway. So it'd be pointless.
On edit- I was one interviewed by a company which asked my views on Unions. I refused to answer, got hired and then, three weeks later, got fired. And irony of all ironies, the Unionized company I work for now supplies materials for their product. I make more money, have better insurance, and don't work as hard. So give me a Unionized place every time. At least for us blue collar types.

[BigAnth]

23. When I first started at my company in the late 80s we were

involved with aerospace and had ties to a lot of defense contracts. We were encouraged to vote republican (without coming out an directly saying it) and to contribute to pro-defense industry PACs. Needless to say, I did neither.

My company has since sold off its aerospace division so I don't have to deal with this crap any more.

[DFW]

24. No, not at all

Although, my immediate superior DID happen to mention that anyone voting for McCain
could commit murder and get away with it due to being stark raving insane.

But that was just as an aside to me, and he knew my sentiments matched his, anyway.

[tammywammy]

25. No, never