# Do corporations really have such rules for employees? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 10, 2001, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-corporations-really-have-such-rules-for-employees/92698 "2001-11-10T23:10:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-corporations-really-have-such-rules-for-employees/92698/21 "2001-11-13T04:23:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Swede Hollow \* > \*\*I don’t work in the industry, but I used to drive by the St. Paul (Minnesota) Ford plant (where they make Ford Rangers) and they used to have employees that drive Fords park along Ford Parkway for everyone to see. The imports and non-Fords are parked further back (and actually closer to the plant - go figure). Obviously they want to put on a show for the passers-by. \*\* Oklahoma-City Assembly (where they made the Malibu – I think it’s a truck plant now) has a “GM-made Vehicles only” designated area of the lot. It’s very close to the door. Michigan Truck Plant in Wayne, Michigan, has an “American Vehicles” only lot; although I don’t know what the penalities are, nor how they define a “non-American” car. I decided to dump my Honda when I was new in the automotive industry, specifically because the red-neck Union workers (as opposed to the non-redneck union workers, honestly!) would key it. This was Lansing Michigan Fisher Body Plant (Oldsmo… er, GM) where I worked as a vendor for a company the sold mostly Japanese-made controls. ---
**Author:** ![WEW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@WEW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WEW)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-corporations-really-have-such-rules-for-employees/92698/22 "2001-11-13T07:08:25Z")
Not unrelated. I work in food and beverage. I have been told by more than one person who works for beer distribution companies that they can be fired for drinking their competitor’s products. These guys were drivers and delivery guys, not execs. I was also told a similar thing by my Coke sales rep. No cites, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-corporations-really-have-such-rules-for-employees/92698/23 "2001-11-13T09:18:06Z")
My wife used to work for Frito-Lay and they banned competito products from their facilities. For example if you had a can of Coke on your desk they could suspend you for a day without pay. I don’t know what they did to salaried employees. Marc ---
**Author:** ![H8\_2\_W8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c77e96/32.png) [@H8\_2\_W8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/H8_2_W8)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-corporations-really-have-such-rules-for-employees/92698/24 "2001-11-13T12:42:41Z")
[http://www.poddys.com/jokes/cart\_122.htm](http://www.poddys.com/jokes/cart_122.htm) ---
**Author:** ![jinty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dbc845/32.png) [@jinty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jinty)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-corporations-really-have-such-rules-for-employees/92698/25 "2001-11-13T13:01:20Z")
I had a friend who worked briefly for Rolls-Royce in the '80s (here in the UK). RR had a similar rule, adjusted slightly for the fact that the average Rolls is out of the price range of the average employee ;). While RR engineers could own any make of car, they weren’t allowed to work on any car they didn’t own, unless it was another Rolls. The company’s reasoning for this was that only RRs were engineered to such a high standard, their engineers would get sloppy if they regularly worked on inferior products. (This smells more like a savvy marketing decision than an engineering necessity to me!) The GM thing sounds a bit draconian. Is it unconstitutional? ---
**Author:** ![johnson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@johnson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnson)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-corporations-really-have-such-rules-for-employees/92698/26 "2001-11-13T13:03:19Z")
Unconstitutional? Exactly which provision of the Constitution would such a requirement run up against? ---
**Author:** ![Robbespiere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/47e85d/32.png) [@Robbespiere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robbespiere)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-corporations-really-have-such-rules-for-employees/92698/27 "2001-11-13T14:20:27Z")
Unconstitutional, no. Unjust, yes. The constitution only protects against oppression by government, not private entities like corporations. Therefore, as corporate power comes to dominate our society, we effectively have fewer rights. Also, Unions cannot eject members for patronizing or not patronizing certain businesses. They lost that power decades ago. ---
**Author:** ![Stellablue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@Stellablue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stellablue)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-corporations-really-have-such-rules-for-employees/92698/28 "2001-11-13T22:21:00Z")
Thanks to all for the info. We may not like what the corporate world requires of it’s workers but at least we have a choice of where to work. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-corporations-really-have-such-rules-for-employees/92698/29 "2001-11-13T23:22:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Robbespiere \* > \*\*Unconstitutional, no. Unjust, yes. > > The constitution only protects against oppression by government, not private entities like corporations. Therefore, as corporate power comes to dominate our society, we effectively have fewer rights.\*\* Not necessarily so. It’s (GM’s) policy isn’t something you don’t know about going it. Think of it like a dress code: you need to wear trousers – not denim --, a button down shirt with a collar, and a neck tie. What? You don’t _own_ these articles of clothing? Well, you ought to buy some. What? You don’t _own_ a GM product? Well, you ought to buy one. Sure, a car costs quite a bit more. But we’re talking level 8 personnel; they make $65,000 as a **bare** minimum (generally more), and you can buy a P.O.S. Cavalier under $15,000, let your wife drive it for two years, and sell it with no significant loss. Also, most of the people subject to this injustice don’t complain about it – they’re proud of their company, and whether they have to drive a GM vehicle or not, the majority would choose to anyway. For perspective, Level 8 personnel could be upper-level middle-management (i.e., not “big-wigs” although they may appear that way to hourly personnel). Most of them in plant and engineering positions aren’t “suit and tie” guys at all. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2001, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-corporations-really-have-such-rules-for-employees/92698/30 "2001-11-14T00:07:12Z")
We have a forum for debating whether such a policy is just. Thank you for taking that part of the thread to that forum. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-corporations-really-have-such-rules-for-employees/92698.md?page=1)