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Canton McDonald's Tells Employees to Vote Republican

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Started 1 year ago by Walker
Latest reply from rus

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Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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McDonald's owner apologizes for urging workers to vote Republican
By Phil Trexler
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Saturday, Oct 30, 2010

The owner of a chain of McDonald's restaurants in Stark County has issued an apology after sending a letter with his employees' paychecks encouraging them to vote for three Republicans.

The original letter to dozens of employees encouraged them to vote for GOP candidates John Kasich for governor, Rob Portman of the U.S. Senate and Jim Renacci for the 16th District seat in Congress.

In the letter, Siegfried writes that employee wages at his company can only be raised ''if the right people'' are elected.

READ MORE: http://www.ohio.com/news/106363608.html

Posted 1 year ago #
GCrites80s
5xNW
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There is too much good joke material here for me to handle! slowly going nuts

Posted 1 year ago #
cc

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Employer is clueless. But jobloss is serious business, we all can't be in IT or graphic design (ephemeral at best). When McD's employees are gettin a shake down it is time to take notice. (I am a democrat, but worried we don't make anything tangible but fast food here anymore.)

Was checking out Weinland Park and was a bit depressed by the abandoned factory on 4th by the School. I wonder if it was not at one time a nieghborhood where the workers walked to work....

I think we are in need of a very drastic bipartisan wake up call.

Posted 1 year ago #
pilsner

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The local McDonald's franchise owner Paul Siegfried released a statement admitting to an "error in judgment" and apologized to "those that I have offended." However Siegfried "doesn't actually take back" that he'd be unable to "continue with raises and benefits" if Democrats are elected.

IMO, the issue isn't that Siegfried "offended" people. The issue is that the pamphlet was illegal. The pamphlet directly violates the Ohio Revised Code regarding elections:

"No employer or his agent or a corporation shall print or authorize to be printed upon any pay envelopes any statements intended or calculated to influence the political action of his or its employees; or post or exhibit in the establishment or anywhere in or about the establishment any posters, placards, or hand bills containing any threat, notice, or information that if any particular candidate is elected or defeated work in the establishment will cease in whole or in part, or other threats expressed or implied, intended to influence the political opinions or votes of his or its employees."

http://law.onecle.com/ohio/elections/3599.05.html

Posted 1 year ago #
cc

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I absolutely think he was in the wrong. You have to consider though, that many business owners may lack some legal savy (or a couple oz of common sense). I cannot think of the last time I went to bed reading the Ohio Revised Code with a glass of warm milk...

Posted 1 year ago #
pilsner

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I get a kick out of all the "I'm sorry if I offended people" apologies especially when it involves a crime. The Republicans love to talk about personal responsibility. Man-up Mr. Seigfried and admit that you were wrong to do what you did because it's against the law.

Posted 1 year ago #
Twixlen
Westgate, Columbus
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I don't think that shades of what this guy did are all that uncommon. I work for a large corporation which has a lot of government ties, and when it looked like the Dems were sweeping the elections two years ago, an announcement was made by the CEO on our floor regarding the PAC and how we needed to be aware of the issues, and vote in a way that would benefit the company (which was clearly republican). They don't come out and say it baldly, but the intention is clear.

Posted 1 year ago #
Core_Models
Columbus
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pilsner wrote >>
I get a kick out of all the "I'm sorry if I offended people" apologies especially when it involves a crime. The Republicans love to talk about personal responsibility. Man-up Mr. Seigfried and admit that you were wrong to do what you did because it's against the law.

Dude, you're the biggest supporter ever of unions...who make you pay them money to qualify to get a job, then tell you who to vote for in every election for life.

If that McD's owner had said "vote D" you wouldn't have a thing to say about this.

Posted 1 year ago #
pilsner

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Core_Models wrote >>

pilsner wrote >>
I get a kick out of all the "I'm sorry if I offended people" apologies especially when it involves a crime. The Republicans love to talk about personal responsibility. Man-up Mr. Seigfried and admit that you were wrong to do what you did because it's against the law.

Dude, you're the biggest supporter ever of unions...who make you pay them money to qualify to get a job, then tell you who to vote for in every election for life.
If that McD's owner had said "vote D" you wouldn't have a thing to say about this.

Nice try mixing apples and oranges and making a strawman argument. I posted the part of the Ohio Revised code that the McDonald's owner violated. Companies often tell people how they'd like their workers to vote but that's not the issue, Twixlen. It's flat-out against the law to print up political shit and pass it out with the paychecks.

Regarding the separate issue about labor unions that Core brought up---I support legally restricting unions AND corporations from making campaign contributions and buying political ads. And I have no problem with a union being held accountable by the criminal justice system if the union breaks the law.

btw, unionized workers have the right to hold an election to decertify their union at any time.

Posted 1 year ago #
Tenzo
Chicago Lakeshore
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pilsner wrote >>

Core_Models wrote >>

pilsner wrote >>
I get a kick out of all the "I'm sorry if I offended people" apologies especially when it involves a crime. The Republicans love to talk about personal responsibility. Man-up Mr. Seigfried and admit that you were wrong to do what you did because it's against the law.

Dude, you're the biggest supporter ever of unions...who make you pay them money to qualify to get a job, then tell you who to vote for in every election for life.
If that McD's owner had said "vote D" you wouldn't have a thing to say about this.

btw, unionized workers have the right to hold an election to decertify their union at any time.

Last one who tried that was Jimmy Hoffa.

Posted 1 year ago #
pilsner

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The McDonald's employees aren't even unionized and this is off-topic. I guess Walker only targets me for going off-topic.

But since the topic has been introduced---the Canton McDonald's owner illustrates why organized labor is important.

All the statistics show that labor unions produce higher wages and better working conditions for all workers. German workers are heavily unionized. Germany has a trade surplus and its banks aren't going kaput.

Besides that labor unions are important as a counter-balance to the power of organized capital in any economy. Feudalism would be a dead certain reality w/o organized labor. Why do you think our grandparents and great grandparents instituted Labor Day?

http://www.epi.org/publications/entry/briefingpapers_bp143/

btw, Do you seriously think Hoffa was whacked for decertifying his unions or for being a corrupt union leader? I can name hundreds of corrupt CEO's/Directors of corporate Boards----Ken Lay, Don Blankenship CEO of Massey Energy, WorldCom CEO, Tony Hayward, etc, etc...

http://investigation.discovery.com/investigation/crime-countdowns/corrupt-ceos/ceos-08.html

Posted 1 year ago #
Snarf
Dystopia
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pilsner wrote >>
The McDonald's employees aren't even unionized and this is off-topic. I guess Walker only targets me for going off-topic.

life isn't fair, boo-hoo.

Posted 1 year ago #
berdawn
near that stretch of N. High Street in the Short North
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Tenzo wrote >>

pilsner wrote >>

Core_Models wrote >>

pilsner wrote >>
I get a kick out of all the "I'm sorry if I offended people" apologies especially when it involves a crime. The Republicans love to talk about personal responsibility. Man-up Mr. Seigfried and admit that you were wrong to do what you did because it's against the law.

Dude, you're the biggest supporter ever of unions...who make you pay them money to qualify to get a job, then tell you who to vote for in every election for life.
If that McD's owner had said "vote D" you wouldn't have a thing to say about this.

btw, unionized workers have the right to hold an election to decertify their union at any time.

Last one who tried that was Jimmy Hoffa.

wouldn't what Reagan did qualify for that?

Posted 1 year ago #
rus

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pilsner wrote >> corrupt union leader?

redundant

Posted 1 year ago #