I work for a small company. a couple of weeks ago the staff was asked to sign some letters written to every member of the texas house in disagreement with the new school funding plan that has been passed and is now on gov. perry's desk to be signed. today we were asked to sign some letters to perry. my question is, do you think my employer has overstepped the lines of the employee/employer relationship? i don't think anyone has had a problem with signing, and of course they said we didn't have to, but anyone who has had a job knows the pressure of an employer asking you to do something and then saying "you're not required" for info, the plan apparently imposes some new tax on business. I'm surprised there isn't a thread on it.
I just voted yes because I don't think its up to an employer to be telling their employees to engage in political lobbying, unless that's the business of that company. Even if they said you didn't have to sign it that still strikes me as being burdensome and unprofessional. I think it would be one thing if an employee posted something in the breakroom but its another if this official company policy.
It depends on whether or not there are truly any ramifications (implicit or explicit) if you don't sign. If there truly or no ramifications, I see no problem with an employer asking their employees to support or reject government policies that affect their business. If the letters they are asking you to sign have absolutely nothing to do with their business, then they should keep those politics out of the workplace.
What do you not understand about his statement? He said that it sounds like you do not know that you were signing. That is pretty straight forward. How about you read what they asked you to sign and make your own decision based upon the context of the document. I would never in a million years ever sign anything that I have not read.
thanks for being his seceretary but I don't understand why he wrote that. I do know what I signed but that's not really what I am asking. what we signed is really irrelevant to the discussion.
Just from your description of what you're being asked to sign, I couldn't really tell what it was about. If it negatively impacts your business, then it would probably be appropriate to sign it. If it's irrelevant to your business, you shouldn't be asked to sign it, imo
okay, what it was is an opposition to the new plan, more just a letter to state we were unhappy with their plan. I would post the letter but I am already feeling uncomfortable even bringing this up on here. not that I think they are watching me, I just maybe should have brought this up from home. edit: a good point is it has nothing to do with our business, just businesses in texas in general
I feel like it is. If it is directly effects business then I can understand them asking you to take a look at what they wanted you to sign. On the other hand, if it does not have any thing to do with the business, then I agree that it is no proper. Just from the way that you worded it, it sounded as if you just signed it and went on with your day. I'm not being anyone's secretary, I just thought the exact same thing as bigtexxx. That RARELY happens.
No, I don't think it matters. They shouldn't be asking you to engage in political activism on their behalf, regardless of how it impacts their business. It's improper. They wouldn't want you asking people in the company to sign political petitions or what have you, and they shouldn't be doing it either. If it were me -- and understand that I'm contrary by nature -- I wouldn't sign it even if I agreed with it, just because of the impropriety of them asking me in the first place. On the new school tax plan, how does everyone like it? Apparently, it'll cut my real estate taxes in half, but I never did figure out why paying for it with real estate taxes was unconstitutional in the first place. It seems more sensible for landowners to pay for schools than businesses.
It seems more sensible for landowners with children to pay for schools than landowners who do not have children.
I would be hesitant to put it in whether it negatively impacts your business or not. Lets say his employer asked him to sign a petition as part of getting the required amount of signatures to get a candidate on the ballot. This candidate supports a tax policy that benefits your business but also espouses social beliefs that you do not agree with. Is it proper for the employer to compel (either passively or directly) you the employee to support a candidate who you don't agree with on many issues just because on one issue it benefits the company?
I don't want to throw my own thread off, but madmax made a good point once about public education. bamaslammer (rememeber him) in his typical extreme conservatism was arguing that everyone should pay for their own kids' education, like the kid and the parents are the only ones to benifit. max made the point that as a business owner, he benifits from the public education system providing at least base skills for workers. I tend to agree, public education is as much as a national security issue, as far as the progression of this country, as much as it is an entitlement issue.
Go here: http://employment.findlaw.com/articles/2440.html Check your employee handbook, as someone stated earlier. Public employers usually have restrictions on any type of political activity. Depending on the size of the business, or the type of busines, private companies can skirt legal issues that the public sector can not. Regardless of the "legality," your company is stomping on ethical issues. What if they were asking you to sign something of which you were in fundamental opposition?
I live in a mostly Republican county, guess what, it's also the one that practices some of the most aggressive form of communism. Our property tax has skyrocketed in recent years -- thanks to the bloated budget of the local public school. Many of my Republican neighbours have two or more kids, who attend the public school. Republican for lower taxes and self sufficiency, my arse.
If you had no choice, then definitely, but was it more along the lines of a PAC... This new school finc. bill will help individuals, but all that is going to happen is any tax the businesses have to pay get passed down in the price of goods and services we all pay... Plus, my prop. tax is deductible...
Somewhat. But, the value of your land is also heavily affected by the school district that it is in. So, just like businesses benefit from the education, as pgab pointed out, landowners also prosper (or suffer) from the education amenities in their neighborhood. Pgab, didn't mean to derail your thread asking about opinions.
