Should employers dectate how their employees should vote in an election?

David Siegel, founder of Westgate Resorts sent an email to his emplyees about the upcoming election. Here is the email?

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/ceo-tells-employees-hes-going-to-fire-them-if-president-obamas-re-elected/

So, the question is should employers be encouraged to send such emails to their employees?

Personally I think it is a violation of business ethics because it breaks down the barrier between personal business of the employee and the professional ethos that should be expected of all employees as long as the employees personal actins do not interfere with their performance of their duties. .

 

Another business man pretending that all he needs to hire more is more money.

This kind of email isn't illegal but it is unethical. I would say the same thing to a boss threatening to fire if Romney won.

 

If everyone votes for Obama there soon won't be any employers left so problem solved!

 

After the last election, an owner of a small manuf plant had to let go a lot of employees due to a down turn in the economy under Obama. So----------------he went out into the parking lot and noted all the car bumpers with Obama stickers and fired the owners. Great solution!!!! And very fair and logical!!!!

 

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-14/versailles-the-would-be-biggest-house-in-america#p1

Sounds to me like while he did work hard for what he wanted...he spent foolishly just like he mentioned his friends did and his business suffered some for it. Typical story...

 

So much for personal responsibility.

 

This is bordering on voter coercion....I think this should be investigated.

 

Betcha he won't be giving his employees a paid day off on election day to encourage them to vote.

 

Encouraged by who? We still have free speech in this country. He can say what ever he wants to, and he can certainly warn his employees about what Obamacare and Obamanomics is going to do to their future.

What is cruel is having employees show up for work only to find a locked door and an "out of business because of Obamanomics" sign.

 

I don't think many workers would be all that swayed by what the boss said as far as who to vote for anyway. Hopefully most are smart enough to see they have competing interests.

 

I am interested in the sudden use of the word "ethics" here at PF. Should journalists be ethical?

 

I'm just thankful I went into a field with enough demand that I don't have to put up with bosses like that. You want to threaten me? Go ahead. I'll just go work for your competitors.

 

No employer should ever "dectate" (sic) to employees how they should vote.

It IS perfectly permissible, and helpful, for an employer to communicate to employees how the company is likely to proceed based on different election results (if those have bearing on the running of the business) -- so that those employees won't be "blind-sided" by anything that happens because of the election results.

Thus, no employer should ever say, "You better vote for Obama, because if Romney wins the election, I'm going to shut the business down and fire all of you!", or, the reverse.

But, it would be perfectly permissible for an employer to share with employees, "If Romney wins the election, our company will ( fill in the blank ). If Obama is re-elected, the company will ( fill in the blank ). Surely we have not come into such a corrupted, state-dictated situation that the Freedom of Speech is forbidden between an employer and an employee....

Parenthetically, I can state truthfully that I do know three employers who plan fairly large changes to the way their companies handle health insurance if Obama is re-elected and Obamacare remains as the law of the land. One of them is going to cut headcount by six heads to get below the threshold of 50 employees that puts the company under the dictate of Obamacare. Another is going to split the company into three separate companies (accounting and tax-wise) so that each entity is below the 50 employee threshold. In short, I don't know of even ONE business owner who wants anything to do with Obamacare!

 

I still think this is an unethical use of your position. But you're right. It is covered under free speech.

 

So, don't warn them, just lay them off suddenly?

 

Walmart tried this in 2008, didn't work.
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/wal-mart-tells-employees-not-vote-democrats

 

That's how Obamacare is going to work. American had better prepare for lay offs and only part time hours, if Obama wins.

 

union members should not be forced to pay dues which goes to Democrats

taxpayer dollars should not go to the UAW to garner Democrat votes


and the point here????????????????????????

 

I don't see the problem with one private citizen expressing their opinion on the election to other private citizens. I also don't see how you could effectively ban employers from making such statements to employees without banning them from making them at all.

I actually think it would be a good thing to encourage more "normal" people to speak out about how they feel various proposed policies would impact them. It would make a valuable change from the politically motivated spin than usually dominates such discussions. Maybe rather than moaning, some of the employees could write an (open) letter back to their employer expressing their opinions. Maybe they'll even change his mind on the right way to vote.

Regardless, I don't think it’s fair to paint this e-mail as a threat. I don't necessarily agree with everything he's saying but he seems to be expressing an honest opinion and the realistic consequences in the event he were correct. He isn't telling employees if Obama gets re-elected, he'll sack them, he's saying that if a particular policy is implemented, he would have to reduce the size of the business (inevitably leading to some job losses).

 

This guy is a blowhard. While his email is probably legal, it certainly is unethical.

 

I am not going to even look... BUT WHAT IDIOT SAID IT'S NOT A VIOLATION OF ETHICS?!?!

 

To correct the OP, the boss didn't dictate to anyone how they should vote. He made a sales pitch on how he would like to see them vote. Certainly not dictatorial. It was in bad taste, in my opinion, but otherwise fine. None of the other posters have seen the company's books so guessing about the boss's needs or motivations is just guess work.

 

The point would appear to be that is far more ethical to tell someone who not to vote for than to charge them money, support one candidate, and not tell them who to vote for...