NC: man fired for stating opposition to the war

[CornField]

JEFF BLOCK is a courier/messenger in North Carolina who was fired from his job for expressing his objection to the morality of the war in Iraq.

Dear North Carolina Friends,

Today I became one of the victims of the new morality in our country. As you know I have been working as a courier/messenger.

This afternoon, Monday, November 8th, I was making my scheduled pickup at the Bank of Granite in Boone. While awaiting the handover of the bags to be delivered one of the tellers at the bank made a comment about how the "moral majority of America stood up to be counted in the election." I said, "The War is immoral and that we should be ashamed."

The teller told her manager of my statement, the manager called my employer and threatened him with loss of his contract if I was not removed. And so, I was fired today.

I wish this was a joke, but it is not. Free speech is no longer tolerated in the American workplace.

I have thought all afternoon about the power of one person and what I could do. I realize that my position will not be reinstated, yet I cannot stand idly by. Our silence has lost our country as we have known it and our continued silence will make slaves of our children.

I ask you as my friends to help. If you have an account at the Bank of Granite, please cancel it. Let the bank know that you are cancelling your account in support of Jeff Block, a courier fired because he dared to speak his mind.

If you do not have an account with the Bank of Granite, please forward this letter to all of your North Carolina friends.

I ask everyone to help. We must remind the corporate entities that rule America today that there will be a tomorrow and that America belongs to the people. Most importantly, we must remind them in their wallets, that the election may be over but the issues remain and that the people will not be silent!

Thank you, God Bless You, God Bless America and the World!

Jeff Block

Source: http://www.kpfk.org/index.php?option=conte...id=50&Itemid=62

Bank of Granite
Boone Office
643 Greenway Road, Suite H-2
Boone, NC 28607
[phone]
Fax: [phone]
Office Hours: Monday - Friday 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Email: http://www.bankofgranite.com/contact_information.asp

General Site: http://www.bankofgranite.com/home.asp

[itsrainingkarma]

hahaha....

how pathetic that they would do this... i feel for you man and if i knew anyone from north carolina i'd tell them...

[Ducks In A Row]

1. From the link you gave, I get a...

The page you are trying to access does not exist.
Please select a page from the main menu.


Any other way to get to it.

[Raftysworld]

2. That's...

Beyond pathetic...

[KAZ]

5. Get lost. n/t

n/t

[DireStrike]

7. huh?

It seems like he's on our side.

[KAZ]

13. Tell ya what, if I'm wrong, $100 to HelpAmerica... n/t

n/t :)

[CornField]

10. Found it here:

http://www.commongroundcommonsense.org/index.php?showtopic=3122&st=0&p=28742&#entry28742

[Maat]

3. Jeff Block needs to go to a lawyer immediately.

The lawyer will investigate and find that this firing is illegal. I'm not giving legal advice, but I am stating that he needs to seek legal help. There is a famous Supreme Court case much like this.

[AP]

8. He should sue the bank employee for tortious interference with his right

to contract.

Here are the elements of that claim in NC:

First, a valid contract must exist between the plaintiff and a third party that provides the plaintiff with contractual rights. (There was a valid employment contract.)

Second, the defendant must have knowledge that the contract exists.  (She knew the guy was an employee -- she complained to the employer.)

Third, the defendant must intentionally induce the third party not to perform the contracts. (She was trying to get the guy punished.)

Fourth, the defendant must induce the nonperformance of the contract without justification. (This would make the most interesting part of the trial -- does not liking a persons response to your political statement justify you getting the guy fired?)

Fifth, the third party’s failure to perform the contract results in actual damage to the plaintiff. (Causation is pretty clear here.)

[Roxy66]

4. Send this to Sen. John Edwards...while he is still Sen. n/t

[ArthurDent]

6. Not so ridiculous, but battle it with speech

I read on another thread how someone who works with court transcriptions won't work for Bush supporters. That is as crazy as this is. Well, more so -- you shouldn't tell the customer that they "should be ashamed," that's just dumb. In the DU thread I'm referring to, the DU person was firing her clients! "The customer is ... not my customer!" Weird.

Still, the best way to right this is the way Mr. Block is -- with more speech, and not with a rock through a window. So, good for him.

[bobbyboucher]

15. They should be ashamed.

The case you cite is quite different, but I think you know that.

[Digit]

9. Talk to a lawyer. Pronto.

[Gyre]

11. Good advice

Make that an Employment Law specialist. Good luck.

Gyre

[Blue_Tires]

12. ttt

[Journeyman]

14. Free speech has never existed in the workplace. . .

and as North Carolina is an "employment at will" state (and I can't imagine it isn't) he won't have any recourse.

Not saying it's right, or that I agree with it, but that's the reality of our society. If you feel anger at this, direct it at the policies and laws that create the situation, not at the specifics of a single case. Change the rules, change the society, and we will all benefit.