Posted on 01/19/2020 11:10:25 AM PST by SoFloFreeper
I cannot go into details because I don't want to harm the innocent parties involved, but here is the basic true story:
My workplace is exceedingly liberal. A few conservatives, but we're outnumbered. I don't hide my views, but I also don't get in fights with others. Honestly.
Seven or eight months ago, maybe longer, I was told my comments offended people and could get me fired. I asked what the specific comments were, and no one could tell me. The response was basically "We all have heard you say things..."
A few days into the new year, I was again read the riot act, told that if I offend anyone else I will lose my job. One of the bosses (there were two) told me not to even talk about the weather or sports. Only work related words should be coming out of my mouth.
I told them I have been very careful about using any language that could be construed as offensive. I asked again for what exactly was my offense. No one could give me a quote.
So, I am doing my best to watch out. I am a good employee and have been that a long time.
What I think I'll do this week is wear RED (not a hat of course LOL) during my work hours. The red will be in solidarity with MAGA. I will do my best to remain quiet.
Why is it necessary to talk about politics at work at all?
A guy I know well from church worked for a large telcom...Sprint I think. A few years ago when the gay marriage thing was a big issue the companies social site had an open invitation for people to express their support. They of course figured that everyone would support it. However the way they worded it didn't say you had to support it to post or respond. You could say anything about it. So all the leftists got on saying "this is great" and "it's about time" and all kinds of supportive comments. My friend commented as well and didn't toe the line. He used bible support to make his case. He didn't call names. He stated the facts. He was a great employee.
He was fired almost immediately on some trumped up charge. Luckily he knew what to do so he screensaved everything he did and the companies invitation for opinions on the topic BEFORE the company took it down.
A major religious freedom legal firm took his case pro-bono and it has been winding through the courts for a while. He's going to win a big settlement.
The point is that leftists will say and do anything to punish those who dare to disagree with their agenda.
We had a drive for “United Way”... well know for Ceo’s stealing out of the pot...Our company HR Dept. put a whole lot of ‘pressure’ on employees to donate.... Even when you say you don’t donate to the organization they continue to press you because they have ‘participation goals’ to reach.
[[Why is it necessary to talk about politics at work at all?]]
Liberals love to talk politics at work- then whine and report you when you don’t agree with them-
Good idea, and good luck SoFloFreeper. Do what the boss says, but document everything every which way. And after the acquittal or dismissal, throw a party and everyone.
Also, check to see what the recording-conversations laws are in your state. If only one person needs to allow, record some of these sumbitches surreptitiously.
Don’t wear red. This isn’t a game. It’s your career.
Do as they request, do a good job, quietly start looking for a new job.
If that's what happens then just report them, or ignore them.
LOL good one!
Good luck pal. Keep us informed.
We used to have very little to no discussions about politics at work until Obama was elected. The day after the 2008 election it all changed. Leftists were ready to "get in your face" long before Obama stated it. This for a defense contractor working on national security issues. The fact that many leftists were working for the company back in 2008 was disconcerting.
Also, follow up with your supervisor with an email and bcc a non-work email of yours (e.g. gmail) noting your conversations, that you didn't believe you had said anything offensive at all and have been making a conscious effort to keep your conversations at work about work-related topics. Ask if he/she has heard anything different. Do NOT admit to making comments in the past that might be construed as offensive. If he/she replies to your email, you have the documentation done, just fwd the reply email to your non-work email.
Do this once a month or every six weeks as a practice. At some point, you may want to only do it once every three months. Each time you could mention "you know, it's been 6 straight months (or 9) where you have said there has been no specific incident."
In this way, you are creating a documented trail of this so that if they ever do fire you, you can defend yourself. It might be good to get a copy of the company policy booklet about workplace behavior and get familiar with it. You'd be amazed at how many supervisors don't know it and don't follow it. Being more informed than them can save you money and heartache.
Last, I agree with someone else on this thread: get your resume up-to-date and always be looking for a better fit and opportunity. Life is too short to have to worry about this kind of nonsense. But if you have to work there, you need to protect yourself.
everything - every choice while one is breathing is a biblical issue/discussed in the bible - if one has surrendered to Jesus is Lord.
Yep - been there, experienced that.
Sounds like a sucky place to work.
But you realize libs are too stupid to notice you’re making a statement with red?
Keep a journal. Document the crap they’re trying to accuse you of.
Once upon a time, agreeing to disagree was a very real American thing.
Today, not so much.
Comply and be assimilated.
There is nothing at my work that shows my outside interests.. No family pics, no sports team/University favorites, etc. Nothing... I’m as milquetoast as it gets ... Remember ~50% disagree with your choices. And when it comes to politics in this area it is 90%...
Good old United Way.
I stopped donating to them the year our local UW kicked the local boy scouts out for the national org’s previous anti-homo policy for scout leaders. A few times after that the pressure came about the “participation” goals blah blah blah. Here has been my stock answer: “Thank you very much for offering me the opportunity in the workplace to donate to the UW. I evaluate my charitable giving at the beginning of every tax year, and UW was not on my list this year. But thank you.” Maybe once, someone tried to pry out of me the reason why UW did not make it. I refused to play. I just repeated my stock answer. Eventually I would just get follow up emails, even begging me to put $0 in, just so they could meet their participation goals. I deleted them.
As a side note, I have a variation of this for fellow workers who try to sell me stuff or donate to other causes, even girl scout cookies for someone’s kids, as I do not like to be a captive donor where someone takes advantage of our relationship to extract a donation. My stock answer is: “Thank you very much for offering me the opportunity to donate to your charity [....]. Company policy is that UW is the only charity that employees will be asked to donate this year. If your charity is supported by UW, I will respond through that campaign. Else, I will follow company policy. Thanks for asking though.”
Do they forbid everyone else to talk about politics?
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