PLEASE help the Democrat FIRED for running for office in FL (donate, comment & keep kicked)

[nashville_brook]

Viviana Janer is an amazing woman running for County Commission in Osceola County which is just south of Orlando. She worked for the Marriott time-share company for ELEVEN YEARS until she decided to run for office when they fired her. Why did they fire her? Because they are supporters of her opponent John Quiñones, who is a darling of big business special interests.

With $60,475 in his campaign fund Quiñones has a huge fundraising advantage over Janer's $18,345, who now has to deal with losing her job. Meanwhile Marriott stroked a $1000 check to the opponent. THIS IS WRONG.

So PLEASE DU -- this is super important. You can make a difference for this Democrat. Take a moment to donate just a few bucks to her campaign, or at least leave a message of support on her website.

here's the link which will take you to a PayPal option for donating -->

http://www.vivianajaner.com




ICYMI, here's the story:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-osceola-commission-candidate-fired-20140921-story.html


Osceola Commission candidate fired after refusing to quit campaign

Viviana Janer is a Democratic nominee campaigning for a seat on the Osceola County Commission. She's also newly jobless.

Her longtime employer, Marriott Vacations Worldwide, fired her after giving her an ultimatum: Quit the campaign or lose your job.

Janer, a Democrat and first-time candidate for office, won the Aug. 26 Democratic primary for District 2 with 79 percent of the vote. She will face incumbent Republican Commissioner John Quiñones in the general election on Nov. 4.

But the time-share company where she had worked for 11 years dismissed her Friday, saying her candidacy and possible service on the commission created a conflict of interest. Janer was given the choice of leaving the campaign or resigning. She declined to do either and was fired.

(snip)

According to campaign-finance reports, Marriott International gave $1,000 to Quiñones' campaign in March. Marriott International spun off Marriott Worldwide Vacations in 2011.

[DJ13]

1. KICK!

[Glorfindel]

2. Kick...thanks for letting us know.

[nashville_brook]

3. she came and spoke to a women's economic forum I attended

earlier this year. i was so impressed. she's a force to be reckoned with, which is exactly why marriott is scared she'll get in office and their free/easy ride on the backs of working families will get just a little more difficult.

[LanternWaste]

4. Done and done.

Done and done.

[Baitball Blogger]

5. Done.

[WillyT]

6. HUGE K & R !!! - THANK YOU !!!

[Octafish]

7. Since when does a corporation have a right to infringe on an employee's right to run for office?

I hope her lawyer likes to go on television, because this case has "Supreme Court of the United States" written all over it.

GOP's fine. Mr. Marriott visited the Nixon Library a couple years' back:

http://nixonfoundation.org/2012/09/richard-marriott-visits-the-nixon-library-2/

Thing is, it seems un-American when a certain pro-GOP stance is demanded of employees.

Hmm. Marriott? Didn't Fred Malek used to sit on their board? He counted Jewish White House employees for Nixon, which the people of Florida might remember.

[badtoworse]

10. Have you ever had to fill out an annual conflict of interest statement?

It covers a lot of things - gifts, outside business activities, political office, stock ownership above a certain threshold, etc. An employer has a right to expect its employees to be non-conflicted. If you refuse to clear a conflict, the employer is justified in firing you.

Most large companies have a written policy on conflicts (and numerous other aspects of employment) and I'm sure Marriott has one. I'd be very surprised if running for political office was not explicitly listed as a potential conflict. As an internal auditor, the policy almost certainly would have applied to her and after 11 years, she could not have been unaware of it. Beyond that, she would most likely have had to sign off that she understood the policy and agreed to abide by it. I've had to do this numerous times in my career with at least four different employers. The bottom line is that this isn't a 1st Amendment case and IMO, she would lose in circuit court.

[Octafish]

11. No, but thanks! I'll look out for that.

Too bad for Ms. Janer. Looked to me like she has a solid case. I'm no lawyer, though.

A ThinkProgress review of the business conduct guide, as well as the company’s internal guidance for political involvement and outside business activity, appears to back Janer’s claims. The company’s political guidelines state that individuals are “encouraged to participate in the political and governmental process, but must be certain that they are doing so using their own resources and their own time,” “to keep personal activities personal.” It specifically says that the company’s encouragement “includes service on governmental bodies, work with advocacy organizations, and participation in partisan political activities.” While it says executives and those involved with government contracting must “obtain permission from Marriott’s Office of Government Affairs prior to making state and local contributions,” it places no such requirement on would-be political candidates.

SOURCE: http://thinkprogress.org/election/2014/09/23/3570950/marriott-vacations-fire-candidate/

There's always hope, especially if you have friends. If you don't have friends, money helps.

[badtoworse]

12. Without knowing all the facts, we can only speculate.

I'd be surprised if holding political office did not require disclosure and company approval. That is typical in my experience.

[nashville_brook]

13. Marriott cut a $1000 check to her opponent. "We can only speculate" -- yeah right.

[nashville_brook]

17. actually ThinkProgress looked into this, and there's no conflict

http://thinkprogress.org/election/2014/09/23/3570950/marriott-vacations-fire-candidate/

[nashville_brook]

16. I wouldn't be surprised if Marriott has a development deal before the board of commissioners

that her opponent has promised to champion in exchange for that $1000 bucks.

i think you're right on with the history this company has with GOP "enemy's lists." Could indeed be a civil rights issue.

[badtoworse]

8. Does her employer have or could her employer have dealings with Osceola County?

Does she have access to confidential information about her employer's support for her opponent? If the answer is yes to any of these, then her employer was justified in demanding she choose between her job and the campaign. As an internal auditor, I can't believe she didn't forsee the potential conflicts.

There are valid reasons why companies do not want conflicted employees working for them.

[Spider Jerusalem]

9. The county board of commissioners has responsibility for zoning and liquor licensing

among other things which might create conflicts of interest.

[nashville_brook]

18. there's no conflict if she's not elected, and if elected she'd recuse herself as an 11-year employee

http://thinkprogress.org/election/2014/09/23/3570950/marriott-vacations-fire-candidate/

In an interview with ThinkProgress, Janer disputed this concern. Since she has not yet been elected to the office, any conflict would be hypothetical at this point, but she explained that if anything came up where Marriott Vacations Worldwide had an interest while she served on the board, “I’d have to recuse myself just like any other commissioner.” Indeed even as a terminated employee, she vowed, “if I win, whether I’m still employed by them or not, I worked for them for over 11 years [and] I’d have to recuse myself if anything came up [directly related to the company].”

She also said that she did not believe she was required to specifically notify the company of her candidacy — which was no secret — or seek its permission. Indeed, she points to a section of the company’s policy that expressly encourages associates to be involved in politics and government, on their own time. “I followed their written company policy. Nowhere in that policy does it state that I have to ask permission,” she said, “If they have a policy where they say they strongly encourage associates to run for office, I wouldn’t imagine they’d fire me for running for office.”

A ThinkProgress review of the business conduct guide, as well as the company’s internal guidance for political involvement and outside business activity, appears to back Janer’s claims. The company’s political guidelines state that individuals are “encouraged to participate in the political and governmental process, but must be certain that they are doing so using their own resources and their own time,” “to keep personal activities personal.” It specifically says that the company’s encouragement “includes service on governmental bodies, work with advocacy organizations, and participation in partisan political activities.” While it says executives and those involved with government contracting must “obtain permission from Marriott’s Office of Government Affairs prior to making state and local contributions,” it places no such requirement on would-be political candidates.

[badtoworse]

19. I already read this and it doesn't address the issue

Many of my former employers encouraged activitiy in politics on your own time, but they still viewed holding political office as a potential conflict that required disclosure. It appears to me you've never worked in a job where you had to disclose potential conflicts. I've worked for a bunch that did and all of them would have fired me in the same situation if I did what she did. If they required disclosure and she failed to do that, then slam dunk, she's gone.

[nashville_brook]

14. campaign finance is public record -- if there's "confidential" back-room support, then yes,

that's a problem, but not for her.

[steve2470]

15. k&r nt

[KamaAina]

20. You do know who's on Marriott's board, don't you?

[nashville_brook]

25. that had not sunk in -- thank you, sharing on Facebook :)

[greatlaurel]

21. Kick

Good luck to Ms. Janer. I hope she wins.

[Horse with no Name]

22. kick n/t

[yortsed snacilbuper]

23. K&R

I donated a few bucks, I hope it helps.

[TheNutcracker]

24. Go Viviana! Call the radio stations and tell them to give you few minutes to tell your story!

K&R

[nashville_brook]

26. Nicole Sandler will be discussing this today on Radio or Not

http://radioornot.com/live-broadcast-chat/

From twitter.

[nashville_brook]

27. she's coming on at 11am -- tune in with this URL

Viviana Janer -- the Democrat fired from Marriott for running for office -- will be on Radio or Not after news at 11am. Tune in!

http://radioornot.com/live-broadcast-chat/

[bondwooley]

28. Hey guys! Do this! nt