Forced Contributions to GOP?

[Bandit]

PHILADELPHIA-September 14, 2004 — Employees of the Republican-controlled Philadelphia Parking Authority said they were told by their superiors to contribute to the GOP, or risk losing their jobs, a newspaper reported.
Five employees said they were pressured on the job to contribute $275 per year, the Philadelphia Daily News reported for Tuesday editions. Campaign finance records show dozens of $100 contributions this year from workers making $25,000 or less.
State law forbids demanding political contributions from public employees or contractors.
"It's extortion," said Michael J. Vecchione, who was hired two years ago to work in the authority's impoundment lots. The four other employees spoke to the Daily News on condition of anonymity.
<snip>
Parking Authority employees also said they had been asked to work the polls. Several said the political activity appeared to be organized by Vincent J. Fenerty, Egan's top deputy and a Republican ward leader.
Fenerty denied pressuring employees to make a political contribution, but acknowledged accepting a $100 donation from Vecchione on authority time. Fenerty, however, described Vecchione as a "disgruntled employee" and said Vecchione approached him with the $100.
Vecchione said Fenerty had pressured him for the money.
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/news/09142004_nw_parkingauthority.html

[Jade Fox]

1. The current Republican Party looks more and more like the Mafia. n/t

[LiberalEsto]

2. This is rotten but it's happened for years

In NJ, lots of municipal employees have to contribute to the party in charge of the local government to keep their jobs. It was going on 30 years ago when I was a reporter for a small=town paper there, and it's still going on, I'm sure.

In the 1970s, one of the ploys in heavily-Democrat Edison, NJ, was requiring all the town employees to buy tickets for the mayor's annual dinner-dance or else. The tickets weren't cheap, and lots of these people didn't make a lot of money, but it was considered part of the responsibility of working for City Hall. Same thing in neighboring towns.

And I'll bet this is done in lots of other towns around the U.S. It stinks, but let's concentrate our efforts on the REAL crimes -- the manipulation of the media, the running of an illegal and insane war, the destruction of the economy, the erosion of our liberties, the no-bid contrating with halliburton, the theft of the 2000 election.

[Bandit]

3. I agree but it is all a part of the steady drip drip drip drip

:shrug: Let the sun shine in........ Oh I forgot this is the Bush* Administration...No Sunshine there. Secret Secret Secret Secret ..Terror Terror Terror Terror.. Fear Fear Fear Fear.