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A new piece by Alec MacGillis in The New Republic looks at Republican mega-donorAi??Robert Murray, who runs the Murray Energy Corporation.
Within the piece is a stunning nugget. MacGillis talks to several workers who say that they were pressured to donate to the company’s Political Action Committee and to the Republican Party. If they resisted, they were made to feel that their jobs were at stake:
The accounts of two sources who have worked in managerial positions at the firm, and a review of letters and memos to Murray employees, suggest that coercion may also explain Murray staffersai??i?? financial support for Romney. Murray, it turns out, has for years pressured salaried employees to give to the Murray Energy political action committee (PAC) and to Republican candidates chosen by the company. Internal documents show that company officials track who is and is not giving. The sources say that those who do not give are at risk of being demoted or missing out on bonuses, claims Murray denies.
The Murray sources, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution, came forward separately. But they painted similar pictures of the fund-raising operation. ai???Thereai??i??s a lot of coercion,ai??? says one of them. ai???I just wanted to work, but you feel this constant pressure that, if you donai??i??t contribute, your jobai??i??s at stake. Youai??i??re compelled to do this whether you want to or not.ai??? Says the second: ai???They will give you a call if youai??i??re not giving. .ai??i??.ai??i??. Itai??i??s expected you give Mr. Murray what he asks for.ai???
The energy corporation’s PAC gave 100 percent of its campaign contributions to Republicans this cycle, and its employees have given 4 times as much money as the PAC, almost all of it to Republicans. This is money that we now know may have been taken from workers faced with losing their jobs.
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This news does not surprise me. Coal companies have a long history of “coercion” of their employees, blue collar and white collar. Not to mention, the use of scabs and violence to break apart unions and strikes. If such coercion in the workplace is not illegal, it certainly should be.
Sounds like the coal miners union borrowed a page from the teachers union, ans UAW’s union. The onlt reason thiz made news is they donated to someone not supported by the left wing. To me this is further proof unions should be abolished. They care more about polutics than their members. In todays society, a worker does not need a union to ensure their basic rights afe met. This is not 1930.