Labor leaders threaten layoffs if elections don’t go their way

It’s no secret that in America the business world is heavily involved in politics—one of the worst and most absurd features of our amazingly broken political system.

One Reddit employee can see firsthand how things are changing after their employer began making ominous statements about how the election results could affect the company, which is not only unethical, but may also be illegal.

Labor bosses are threatening layoffs if elections don’t go their way.

“I work as a contractor for a technology company,” wrote an employee of the telecommunications company where he works. “All of a sudden, they force everyone to quit their day jobs and write automation test plans.”

Forcing your employees to make plans to use AI is certainly ominous, and there are rumors in this man’s office that most of their contracts will be terminated and replaced with automation “if the election results go one way.”

“I was unable to find out more information by talking to others,” they continued. “I’m obviously very shocked… Does anyone have an opinion on which candidate winning might trigger this?”

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The tech industry has largely supported Trump. But Trump also essentially promised to crash the economy and reverse the Biden administration’s economic policies.

Trump has become a favorite of business leaders across all industries because of his promises to end nearly all forms of regulation, from financial regulations to destroying the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to protect the environment and cut taxes. (Increasing corporate taxes, by contrast, is a cornerstone of Kamala Harris’ economic plans.)

After years of serving as a reliable source of support for Democratic candidates, the tech industry has largely followed suit this election cycle, with even prolific Democratic donors like Allison Huynh jumping ship and backing Trump. Given the tech industry’s deep dependence on immigrant workers on H-1B work visas (a program Trump attacked in his first term), none of this makes any sense, but it hasn’t stopped the shift.

Many immediately suspected that the employee’s bosses were following the example of far-right Silicon Valley darlings like Elon Musk and trying to force their employees to vote for Trump. But others suggested the employee’s employer may be doing the opposite – urging employees to vote for Kamala Harris amid a raft of economists warning that Trump’s plans will hit the economy.

In recent days, even Musk himself has admitted that Trump’s plans will lead to a complete collapse of the economy, which, according to him, is actually a good thing. He called it “temporary hardships” necessary for “long-term prosperity,” a claim as absurd as it is sinister.

Either way, in a follow-up comment, the employee shared a reason to believe their bosses might actually be Team Harris: The company benefited greatly from grants that were part of the Biden administration’s bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Trump Act. signaled he plans to cut spending even as it boosted employment and the broader economy.

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In either case, such employer actions may constitute voter intimidation, a federal and state crime.

Voter intimidation is a federal crime, although what exactly it constitutes as it relates to an employer doesn’t seem clear, especially since the Supreme Court’s absurd 2010 Citizens United decision ruled that corporations have essentially the same political rights. and the right to freedom of speech as an individual.

However, state laws are much clearer.

As Virginia attorney Thomas Spiggle told the Society for Human Resource Management, “In most states, private employers can fire their employees for their political activities or affiliations as long as the termination is not a form of voter intimidation or coercion.”

What’s not good is that they certainly shouldn’t be allowed to fire people for their political views. But while the fact that the worker’s employer did not identify the candidate may help him avoid liability, most states would consider this a fairly clear violation of voter intimidation laws.

That doesn’t mean, of course, that filing a lawsuit is worth it anyway—or that there won’t be dismissals anyway, no matter who wins.

As one Reddit user told this employee, the best answer is probably “always apply.”

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Jon Sundholm is a news and entertainment journalist covering pop culture, social justice and human interests.