Re: wrong candidate

I don't see any basis for that conclusion. It was not too long ago that OSC recommended action against a Bush supporter.

The real underlying issue is that the federal unions supported Kerry (and other Democrats) and this probably carried over into some employees using their government offices, etc. to support that effort.

Re: wrong candidate

DoD Manager, that is NOT the "underlying reason" for the violation. Everyone has a right to their partisan preferences, but no one has a right to misuse their position as a Federal employee to violate the Hatch Act - which Mr. Foster (a "he", not a "she", by the way) clearly did. The violation was wrong regardless of which candidate was being supported (for what it's worth, I supported Kerry myself). As for your contention that Federal unions and the Democratic party are somehow at fault here - who is stopping the Republican party from making a better case to the unions than they've made so far? I suspect that the perception that the GOP is, at its core, anti-Government employee, anti-bureaucrat, anti-public sector, et al, is what is really at play here. What's ironic about that is that this FedSmith blog has shown that there are a great many "Feds" with Republican-leaning values who would be a valuable constituency for the GOP, if the party were wise enough to try to appeal to them.

Re: wrong candidate

I think you misunderstood my point which was that there is probably more political activity on behalf of Democratic candidates because federal unions support Democrats and generate volunteers from the federal workforce.

OSC has demonstrated that they will prosecute violations of the Hatch Act regardless of the political party involved.

The original poster indicated or implied that was not the case and that prosecutions were more likely if the person being prosecuted had supported Democrat but would be overlooked if supporting a Republican. I don't see any evidence of a basis for that conclusion.

Re: wrong candidate

I don't think we disagree on your point about the unions. Yes, they support the Democrats more than they support the Republicans - why shouldn't they? If the Dems can generate support within the Federal workforce that is legal and compliant with Hatch Act restrictions, more power to them - just as the GOP should not be condemned for generating support among its targeted voting blocs. Both parties are missing opportunities to broaden their support base.

Re: wrong candidate

Lets not get lost in a debate on whether or not unions support more Democrats than Republicans. That won't get us anywhere in this discussion and is likely to drag us down into a partisan quarrel.

The real point here is that the original poster proposed that the disciplinary action is based on which candidate was being promoted. That's a political cheap shot. The original poster is wrong.

Re: Federal Employees should exercise their political voice

No argument with the Union President position on this issue - But I think the cautionary tale is about being very careful to know where the legal boundaries are with respect to the Hatch Act. Violations can cost you your job and Federal career. I'm not so sure that most people, even Union Presidents, are as clear about these boundaries as they need to be.

Re: Re: Wrong Candidate

I did not interpret the comment as a cheap shot. I have heard from employees reiterate advice they were given from their union as to what they could do and still stay within the requirements of the Hatch Act. The advice (at least their interpretation of it) was incorrect and could have led to the employee being fired had it followed the advice. The local was recruiting volunteers to work for candidates being supported by the union.

The political activism of some unions has led to some employees going overboard. It doesn't mean they can't engage in some political activity. It does mean that if they are given bad advice from an enthusiastic union rep supporting a candidate, the employee's career is the one that can be damaged or destroyed.

My advice to any employee: get advice from your legal office or from OSC. Any penalties for following the wrong advice on the Hatch Act will fall on your shoulders.

Re: Re: Wrong Candidate

Social Worker, don't get confused here..

DoD manager is a different poster than I am. i.e. dod vs DoD.

Re: Blatant Violation of the Hatch Act

Sounds like your "activity" has issues. Not being able to define clearly what is a violation to it's members and then citing another example as a violation but not being able to act on that violation is not a good sign...

Re: Sticker

Despite my having supported Kerry for president, and despite my belief that I have pretty decent judgment, I thought your post was wicked funny! Must have had something to do with how direct the comment was.