(09-09-2012, 01:07 PM)shoju Wrote: They very well could have said "You HAVE to be there" and then not done anything to the people who didn't show. It's an empty threat, and FiT is pouncing on it.
Go ahead and show me the people who get fired for not being there, and then I might care.
That's not such an empty threat. In an environment where jobs are fragile and scarce, and bosses are looking to get rid of employees anyway, this kind of intimidation can be quite serious. And it seems clear from what's been said by both sides that, at minimum, workers were told this is what they were doing today, without pay. The mine was closed specifically to get workers out to the rally. I know what I'd think if my boss told me attendance was mandatory; I'd assume I have to go, or risk being fired.
What happened to the workers who didn't show up (or what would have happened if this had not become national news), we don't know. Maybe nothing, although being labelled as troublesome can be a big problem for a worker. But if your boss tells you that it's mandatory to spend your free time going to a political rally, I'm not sure it makes it a lot better that it's an empty threat. It's still way over the line.
-Jester