Disney CEO asks employees to chip in to pay copyright lobbyists

[adam.adbe]

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...loyees-to-chip-in-to-pay-copyright-lobbyists/

<sigh>

 

[bfost87]

I'm not saying it's not true, but to say the least I'm skeptical.

 

[UncleMike101]

Ya know............
If this is true I think that if Mr Iger wants to see his Liberal political agenda come to fruition he should SPEND HIS OWN @#^% MONEY instead of proffering what amounts to blackmail to his employees.
I've held a job where the "boss" uses his/her clout to promote, or demote, employees based on their "contributions" to various Political groups.
IMO, it is one of the lowest forms of animal life who uses their position to further ANY Political agenda.

 

[Eoghann]

Ars Technica is a generally reliable source of news.

Also this sort of "letter" looking for donations to a company PAC is very common in large companies these days.

 

[OKW Lover]

I have no doubt this is true. But slanted.

The story refers to a PAC, short for Political Action Committee. Most large, and not so large corporations have PAC's which are a way to put their positions in front of political candidates and other bodies. This is perfectly legal.

PAC's get their funding from people, in this case mostly high level Disney employees. All this letter is doing asking for those donations.

 

[Eoghann]

I have no doubt this is true. But slanted.

The story refers to a PAC, short for Political Action Committee. Most large, and not so large corporations have PAC's which are a way to put their positions in front of political candidates and other bodies. This is perfectly legal.

PAC's get their funding from people, in this case mostly high level Disney employees. All this letter is doing asking for those donations.

I don't think the article questions the legality of it, they even point out cases of other companies doing it.

The ethics of it are another matter. The company I work for does the same sort of thing and I refuse to contribute because I would lose all control over how or where that money was spent. As with Disney it is made clear that donations are not required and that there will be no "punishment". I am confident that this is the case (both where I work and at Disney). Even so I find the idea that billion dollar companies are begging for money from their employees instead of spending their own quite distasteful and a prime example of what is wrong with the employee/employer relationship in the US today.

 

[mshanson3121]

I don't think the article questions the legality of it, they even point out cases of other companies doing it.

The ethics of it are another matter. The company I work for does the same sort of thing and I refuse to contribute because I would lose all control over how or where that money was spent. As with Disney it is made clear that donations are not required and that there will be no "punishment". I am confident that this is the case (both where I work and at Disney). Even so I find the idea that billion dollar companies are begging for money from their employees instead of spending their own quite distasteful and a prime example of what is wrong with the employee/employer relationship in the US today.

Especially coming off their quarterly results which were great, which they then followed up with by cutting loose a large amount of employees. I'm sorry, it's just sleazy.

 

[adam.adbe]

Especially coming off their quarterly results which were great, which they then followed up with by cutting loose a large amount of employees. I'm sorry, it's just sleazy.

I know *why* they do it, but the "you can have it deducted through your paycheck" bit is what bothers me most. If my employer instituted a policy like this, I'd hear: "this in no way goes against your performance"; "the direct pay is for convenience and tax reasons", and my brain would register: "pay up or don't expect favors come next lay-off round."

I'm 100% certain Bob Iger does not intend for this to be in any way coercive, but Bob Iger is not every director, manager, and middle manager at Disney.

 

[Eoghann]

I know *why* they do it, but the "you can have it deducted through your paycheck" bit is what bothers me most. If my employer instituted a policy like this, I'd hear: "this in no way goes against your performance"; "the direct pay is for convenience and tax reasons", and my brain would register: "pay up or don't expect favors come next lay-off round."

I'm 100% certain Bob Iger does not intend for this to be in any way coercive, but Bob Iger is not every director, manager, and middle manager at Disney.

Fortunately companies the size of Disney have very large HR departments which, somewhat, protect from that sort of petty bullying and abuse. Far more so than at small companies in my experience. In a small company you generally are employed at the whim of one or maybe two people.

 

[missbrooke06]

This is so common that I'm surprised it's considered news.

 

[kandb]

I am not surprised at all. Disney fired all those IT employees and replaced them with foreign employees. Shame on Disney.

 

[Magic Fanatic]

I don't think the article questions the legality of it, they even point out cases of other companies doing it.

The ethics of it are another matter. The company I work for does the same sort of thing and I refuse to contribute because I would lose all control over how or where that money was spent. As with Disney it is made clear that donations are not required and that there will be no "punishment". I am confident that this is the case (both where I work and at Disney). Even so I find the idea that billion dollar companies are begging for money from their employees instead of spending their own quite distasteful and a prime example of what is wrong with the employee/employer relationship in the US today.

I don't see it as distasteful at all. The other option is that the company fund these PAC's with profits and reducing dividends to shareholders.

Publicly traded companies sell stock to investors in return investors expect returns. Like it or not, a PAC's function is to fight for legislation favorable to the company they represent in order to increase profit, leading to higher returns for investors.

I'm not saying I agree with these practices, that's just the way the game is currently played.

 

[MommaBerd]

I don't think the article questions the legality of it, they even point out cases of other companies doing it.

The ethics of it are another matter. The company I work for does the same sort of thing and I refuse to contribute because I would lose all control over how or where that money was spent. As with Disney it is made clear that donations are not required and that there will be no "punishment". I am confident that this is the case (both where I work and at Disney). Even so I find the idea that billion dollar companies are begging for money from their employees instead of spending their own quite distasteful and a prime example of what is wrong with the employee/employer relationship in the US today.

I was a manger at a telecommunications company 12+ years ago, and this was going on even then...after all it is "for the benefit of the company and ultimately that benefits you, employee, right?" But like you, I did not like the idea of losing control of my political dollars and risk the PAC supporting positions I am opposed to. And I agree that companies asking for money for this is a bit crazy - and uncomfortable.

Fortunately companies the size of Disney have very large HR departments which, somewhat, protect from that sort of petty bullying and abuse. Far more so than at small companies in my experience. In a small company you generally are employed at the whim of one or maybe two people.

Most companies use direct deposit, too. So really, managers *should* only know salaries - not all the deductions and final take-home pay.

 

[Maineiak]

A) I'd be surprised if even half the employees read a letter that long (referring to the "verbatim" text at the bottom of the article...and it says that's not even all of it)

and

B) I work for a large non-profit. For years upper management thought it distasteful to ask for contributions from employees to support our mission. Kinda ironic and a complete 180 from the public entities referenced in the article

 

[TheGecko]

These PACs are common at most publically traded companies. I have worked for a couple of Fortune 500 companies as a direct employee and I have seen it go both ways.

At the large oil giant, we literally had a SVP in an all hands tell everyone they should contribute to the PAC for the good of their business and jobs. He said they expected 100% response on the PAC membership drive, including if you would be selecting the box on the web portal that you would not be participating. The portal then gave you the recommended contribution based on a percentage of your salary. Since it was being tracked and they gave you the guidance on contributions, most folks were strong armed into their recommended level for fear of future career impacts.

At the power utility it was more laid back and we never had similar pressure outside of an annual e-mail reminding you it was available. Never got the hard sell, though I am sure they were still tracking participation since these PACs need to be filed with the feds annually.

What is missing from that article is that PAC requests typically only go out to salaried employees or management, which is probably the case with Disney. It is probably not going out to the interns, college program folks, and the hourly workers at the parks.

 

[dclpluto]

Most Disney employees get paid peanuts so to ask them to contribute to something is wrong.

 

[OKW Lover]

What is missing from that article is that PAC requests typically only go out to salaried employees or management, which is probably the case with Disney. It is probably not going out to the interns, college program folks, and the hourly workers at the parks.

That's my experience as well. At the public utility that I retired from a few years ago the PAC solicited contributions from employees in the Manager level and above.

 

[UncleMike101]

That's my experience as well. At the public utility that I retired from a few years ago the PAC solicited contributions from employees in the Manager level and above.

I'd like to hear from some of the members here who are CM's.
If the hourly people were included in the letter distribution then they may well have gotten a "Just a reminder we are laying people off left and right" warning.

 

[Magic Fanatic]

I'd like to hear from some of the members here who are CM's.
If the hourly people were included in the letter distribution then they may well have gotten a "Just a reminder we are laying people off left and right" warning.

None of the hourly people I know at Disney received this letter.

 

[TheGecko]

None of the hourly people I know at Disney received this letter.

This is what I expected based on my experiences in the past. Still there are many salaried folks out there who are not making anywhere close to what the executives and upper management are pulling in, and still expected to contribute a similar percentage of salary. Such is the world.