Koch brothers mailed letters urging their employees to vote Republican or else “suffer the consequences”
Romney himself urged conservative business leaders “make it very clear to your employees what you believe is in the best interest of your enterprise and therefore their job and their future in the upcoming elections.”
“Nothing illegal about you talking to your employees about what you believe is best for the business, because I think that will figure into their election decision, their voting decision,” Romney told the business owners associated with the National Federation of Independent Business, a political organization closely aligned to the Republican Party.
Request Foods’ CEO’s endorsement of Romney, fit neatly into the Michigan company’s modus operandi. The company promotes itself as “dedicated to placing priority on Christian principles in every aspect of our business,” according to its website. That means quarterly meetings that seem to emphasize GOP politics over business news and chaplains regularly in the office halls, said one former employee.
Request Foods’ “workplace chaplains … report directly to the head of [human resources].” Eric Manthei, the logistics coordinator for Request Foods, told HuffPost recently that the CEO’s endorsement, which appeared in the company newsletter, did not cause any reaction among employees. “I don’t think it was weird at all,” he said. “They are very open and transparent with their thoughts and beliefs. All the employees fall in line. They support our business policies.”
One Bain & Co. employee, who worked there after Romney and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that company was so predictable in its consulting advice — fire people — that it became an office punchline.
“It was a running joke,” he recalled. “‘Oh, what are we going to do? We’re going to fire people. Of course we are!’ It was a joke. That’s how we felt about it: ‘Okay, let’s have some beers on Friday and forget about it.'”