Coal Workers Say They Were ‘Coerced’ Into Making GOP Donations

[jsr]

http://www.care2.com/causes/coal-workers-say-they-were-coerced-into-making-gop-donations.html

Coal Workers Say They Were ‘Coerced’ Into Making GOP Donations

“You’ve got a great boss,” Mitt Romney proclaimed to a crowd of coal miners at a campaign rally in August.

He was referring to Robert Murray, the CEO of Murray Energy, one of the largest coal mining operators in the country.

For Romney, that statement was particularly true. According to accounts from multiple coal miners, employees were forced to attend the event without pay. “Just for the record, if we did not go, we knew what would happen,” said one miner in a letter to a local radio station. Weeks later, Romney’s campaign featured images of the coal miners in a pro-coal ad. (The Obama campaign hit back this week with an ad claiming Romney used coal workers as “props”).

But that was just the tip of the iceberg. An expose from New Republic Senior Editor Alec MacGillis shows that Murray Energy is doing far more than requiring employees to spend uncompensated time at campaign events — the company is actually requiring them to donate to GOP candidates like Romney ...

[WillyT]

1. K & R !!!

[LiberalAndProud]

2. Is this legal?

If so, why?
If not, why is Murray not facing an indictment?

[yardwork]

6. It isn't legal and it isn't the first illegal thing that Big Coal has done, not by a long shot.

[LiberalAndProud]

8. That answers my first question.

[immoderate]

10. Maybe that's the wrong question...

This country has a long history of injustices that are or were legal. One of the frequent responses I get from my right wing friends when I point to voter suppression attempts by the Republicans is, "Is it legal?"

It is, if you control the judiciary, and can write the laws that allow for such practices. We know that it's not "right," but fairness and even democracy are not part of our fundamental principals. "It's not a democracy, it's a republic." is an answer I often hear.


--imm

[nc4bo]

3. Ed Shultz did a segment on the miners, I posted about it......

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021480802#post18

Look for a post by ArnoldLayne.

A few of my friends that work for Murray Coal or Energy told me about this but no one believes them. This is happening all over in Appalachia Coal Country but no one cares.

You know, with all the yapping our side has been doing about clean coal, digging up more, etc. - the welfare of the workers has never once been addressed and when you get to thinking about what ArnoldLayne said, it wouldn't be difficult to understand why these areas are so "red" and anti-D.

Something should be done. What - I have no idea but it can start with our wonderful Democratic Party addressing it directly.

[yardwork]

7. I think that you are exactly right. "No one cares" is how the miners feel, for good reason.

When you have practically nothing except a long heritage of grinding poverty, incredibly unsafe working conditions, and disenfranchisement, and one side is telling you that God wants you to vote for the Republicans and the other side is totally ignoring you, well it's not surprising.

[jsmirman]

9. Well, Lord, this should be an easy one

String up the damn boss for violating Federal Election Law.

Perhaps we have to win to allow that to proceed, but things like this simply cannot stand.

The failure to send Wall Street malfeasors and Big Coal criminals to the jails we readily fill with people committing far lesser crimes is a real failing of our society/government.

[yardwork]

12. I wholeheartedly agree.

[ArnoldLayne]

16. Thank you for supporting me "A Steelworker"

and guys I went to school with "Coal Miners" who are being repressed like it was in the early 1900's and 1920 infamous "Coal Wars". Our idol in WV and Ohio is Mary Jones (Mother Jones).

[MADem]

4. "Coerced" is a nice way of saying "Pony up and show up--or YOU'RE FIRED!!!" nt

[patrice]

5. Jobs ARE the "infinitely long" lever. nt

[Quantess]

11. This is just so wrong!

He cannot be allowed to get away with this!

[LiberalAndProud]

13. Where is the ACLU?

[toby jo]

14. It's the NLRB's job.

It's hard to prove that people are being coerced into giving. In the Ohio Valley where I live there's 'stop Obama's War on Coal' signs out and about - what shit for brains. Then you get this constant background thread of hey, it's the miners being screwed. All this against these little coal company towns where they used to pay in script. The men will vote Dem, but sloppy & stupid prevails too much. I used to tell people it's like the 60's never hit out here, but they could host another Skopes Monkey Trial.

Dems gotta get serious on some back country outreach - this is the rep base, GET ON IT. Too late for this year, but there is a huge market waiting for it. 3 ideas: media outlet - lib paper with local news on a regional basis & hit the little 2 -yr colleges out and about. There's very few large universities. Get the younger generation. The last is hit up the farm papers with another consistent message about the middle class strength and healthy economic policy.

Yeah, hay prices, crop damages, field conditions, livestock sales and economics. Some real consistent thumping needed out here. You see the issue with rural America?

[renate]

15. k&r

Wow. So these miners had to make donations IN ADDITION to the lost wages that they donated to the campaign while being used as an unwilling backdrop?