Tuesday, October 16, 2012

More Employee threats to vote Republican, from Koch Industries this time.

The employee threats continue to pour out of corporate America’s one big chance to swoop in and own us lock stock and barrel. The human commodity.

I would link to all the other stories, but what the heck, this movement isn’t about to slow down anytime soon.
Cap Times-Mike Ivey: In These Times reported that Koch Industries has sent a “voter information packet” to some 45,000 employees at its Georgia Pacific division, which includes the former Fort Howard paper plant in Green Bay.

Included in the packet is a letter from Koch Industries President Dave Robertson cautioning that “many of our more than 50,000 U.S. employees and contractors may suffer the consequences” of voting for "candidates who want to spend hundreds of billions in borrowed money on costly new subsidies for a few favored cronies, put unprecedented regulatory burdens on businesses, prevent or delay important new construction projects, and excessively hinder free trade ..."
Of course Koch Industries didn’t really mean to send out a veiled threat of retaliation to their employees, but the letter had absolutely nothing to do with politics, right?
Koch Industries has denied any political angle to the voter information, noting in a statement issued Sunday that both Koch companies and Koch PAC, described as an "employee political action committee," support candidates “based on their support for market-based policies and economic freedom” and not party affiliation. “We support both Republicans and Democrats who support market-based policies and solutions,” the statement says.
Oddly, only Republicans have that extreme free market ideological belief. Coincidence?  
But as Forbes notes in this story, Koch money has gone almost exclusively to Republicans, especially in more recent elections.
 Check out the story link here, for an amazing inside look at Charles Koch from his wife's perspective.

Employee intimidation extends beyond the work place too:
Investorvillage: Their fear comes not only from the mailing, but also from a new Georgia Pacific social media policy implemented earlier this year that warns, “Even if your social media conduct is outside of the workplace and/or non-work related, it must not reflect negatively on GP’s reputation, its products, or its brands.” Given the policy, the workers were scared to appear next to a candidate the Kochs do not support with the plant in the background.

No comments:

Post a Comment