David H. Koch
(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images / AFP)
Source: Russia Today
http://rt.com/usa/news/koch-brothers-obama-vote-501/
The billionaire Koch brothers this month threatened to
fire many of their more than 50,000 employees if they dare to vote for
President Obama or any other Democrats in the 2012 elections.
The Kansas-based Koch brothers, who run a multi-national
group of companies called the Koch Industries, sent a voter information packet
to 45,000 of its Georgia Pacific subsidiary this month, threatening that “many
of our more than 50,000 US employees and contractors may suffer the
consequences” if they vote for Democrats. The packet also included an
op-ed by David Koch endorsing Mitt Romney and one by Charles Koch slamming
Obama, reported the monthly magazine, In These Times.
The brothers also warned that electing Democrats would
also lead to other consequences, including higher gasoline prices, runaway
inflation and “other ills.”
“This is true regardless of what your political
affiliation might be,” reads the cover letter to the packet, written by
Koch Industries President and Chief Operating Officer Dave Robertson.
The brothers have already donated millions to Republican
candidates and conservative causes, including an $18 million fundraiser for
Romney at a beachfront home this summer.
Their threat has created a culture of fear among their
employees, who worry they could lose their jobs for expressing their opinions.
In September, a group of unionized employees at Georgia Pacific posed for a
photograph with Democratic state Senate candidate Arnie Roblan. After the
packet arrived in the mail, they grew worried that if the picture fell into the
hands of the Koch brothers, it could cost them their jobs – especially since
the Georgia Pacific plant is in the background.
But Koch Industries is not the only company seeking to
control the votes of its employees. Florida billionaire David Siegel, CEO of
Westgate Resorts, recently sent out an e-mail to 7,000 employees describing
possible consequences of an Obama win.
“I can’t tell you whom to vote for, and I certainly
wouldn’t interfere with your right to vote for whomever you choose,” Siegel wrote in
an e-mail first published by Gawker. But the billionaire CEO then warned that
Obama’s reelection would cost some of his employees their jobs.
“So where am I going with all this?” he asked.
“It’s quite simple. If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, as our
current President plans, I will have no choice but to reduce the size of this
company. Rather than grow this company I will be forced to cut back. This means
fewer jobs, less benefits and certainly less opportunity for everyone.”
This e-mail is not the first attempt Siegel has made to
keep Republicans in power. Earlier this year he claimed to have been “personally
responsible” for former President George W. Bush’s 2000 win, even though
his methods may “not necessarily have been legal.”
The largest privately held US coal company, Murray
Energy, was also found to have pressured its employees to donate money to
Republican candidates, The New Republic found.
“We have been insulted by every salaried employee who
does not support our efforts,” CEO Robert Murray wrote in a letter to employees,
which listed names of those who had not yet attended fundraisers.
And last year, Delta Airlines offered free Washington,
DC-bound flights to flight attendants who agreed to lobby for a Federal
Aviation Administration bill that would make it more difficult for employees to
unionize.
The Koch brothers threats are just the latest in a series
of intimidation tactics by billionaire employers trying to encourage their
large number of employees to vote like them.
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