If You Dont Contribute, Your Jobs At Stake
By Stephen Lacey
Youve got a great boss, Mitt Romney proclaimed to a crowd of coal miners at a campaign rally in August.
He was referring to Robert Murray, the CEO of Murray Energy, one of the largest coal mining operators in the country.
For Romney, that statement was particularly true. According to accounts from multiple coal miners, employees were forced to attend the event without pay. Just for the record, if we did not go, we knew what would happen, said one miner in a letter to a local radio station. Weeks later, Romneys campaign featured images of the coal miners in a pro-coal ad. (The Obama campaign hit back this week with an ad claiming Romney used coal workers as props).
But that was just the tip of the iceberg. An expose from New Republic Senior Editor Alec MacGillis shows that Murray Energy is doing far more than requiring employees to spend uncompensated time at campaign events the company is actually requiring them to donate to GOP candidates like Romney:
More (w/supporting links): Coal Workers Say Murray Energy Coerces Them To Make GOP Donations: If You Dont Contribute, Your Jobs At Stake
Coal Miners Donor: A Mitt Romney benefactor and his surprisingly generous employees.