Wait…Martin Hyde, are you accusing Harry Reid and others in the media and in the Democratic Party of just using the Kochs as a rallying cry for their own base and their accusations are nothing more than Chicken Little screaming the “sky is falling”? Interesting…
Are their beliefs inconsistent with my belief in the right to collect large checks?
Much like principle-driven boycotts, if I were unwilling to work for or buy from companies managed by wrongheaded bags of shit, my lifestyle choices would be relegated to rustic woodsman or hunter-gatherer plainsdweller. The fact that this particular pair of pricks has piqued the public interest doesn’t change that in the least.
I work in the oil industry and am generally fairly liberal. There are definitely companies in the industry that for various reasons I would not work for, or would at least try my best not to. But part of it is that I believe that it is possible for oil companies to behave ethically and with a proactive attitude towards worker and environmental safety and I genuinely believe that companies that do so are healthier, both financially and in terms of being good workplaces.
Yeah, they all do a certain amount of lobbying I don’t really agree with, but some companies really do go all out to fight each and every tiny bit of regulation and in my observation, those are companies that have poorer HSE practices and attitudes. Although my job is mostly an office one I also do some fieldwork, so part of it is that it’s occasionally my ass on the line, but I also don’t really want to stake my future on a company that takes a lot of chances when in this industry (especially with the smaller players) you’re always one or two large-scale accidents away from financial ruin.
That said, my list of what I’d say are “bad” companies in the oil industry only sometimes agrees with the more radical environmental left’s ideas of which company is their anathema de jour. Many of the activist groups are simply opposed to the oil industry continuing to exist at all and which companies they make the most noise about has more to do with politicking than the actual practices of those companies. I honestly don’t know that much about Koch (they’re not really involved in my area of the industry). Some of their political practices do seem a bit shady to me, but the amount of hyperbole in the rhetoric against them makes me a bit skeptical, especially since it’s coming from a lot of sources I’ve known to bend the truth in order to score political points against the industry in the past. So I didn’t vote in the poll. Maybe if for some reason they try to buy my company, I’ll do some research and get back to you.
I’ve heard they were a pretty good company to work for. Its hard to turn down good pay.
And as was pointed out before, few companies are perfect. I dont think I could work for a beer or cigarette company let alone the new marijuana suppliers. Nor could I work for anyplace that had anything to do with strippers or pornography.
Sometimes one can work for a “bad” company and use that experience to then go work for a “good” company.
Ex. A friend who had a Quaker background, his first job out of engineering school was working on parts for nuclear missiles. He worked there for about 3 years and with that on his resume, got a good job somewhere else.
Another friend, a singer and performer, his first real good paying gig was working at the Playboy Club in Chicago. He became a born again believer right before the job began and was obligated to work there and finish his contract (he said he got many odd looks when he told people on Saturday nights he was going to church the next morning). The connections he made there did help launch his career.
Thanks to this thread, I’ve learned that it’s pronounced “coke” and not “cock” or “coch” (as in Ed Coch, rhymes with scotch).
I think I’ll still continue to say “Cock Brothers”.
Koch is one of those weird last names people don’t have a standard pronunciation for…the Koch brothers from Koch industries pronounce it “Coke.” But Jim Koch (unrelated), who founded Boston Beer (Sam Adams) pronounces his “Cook.”
I lived in Germany for years and the closest English pronunciation is definitely “cock” but the ck in English is a tad different from the ch in German.
Actually, it’s Ed Koch (still rhymes with scotch.)
I believe we need to show all major employers we mean business.
LETS ALL QUIT ARE JOBS AND LET THE GOVERNMENT PAY ARE WAY!!That pretty much nails it for me.
I’ve spent my working life working for progressively smaller and smaller companies, to the point where I now see the CEO of my (75 employee) company every day. It’s a lot more intimate and immediate situation than some random Chick-Fil-A or Hobby Lobby employee knowing that the suits at HQ are probably homophobic assholes. My boss is white, wealthy, in his sixties, Mormon, and Republican. I’m sure he espouses many viewpoints I would find abhorrent. I have no problem working for him.
I suspect you would work more of a hardship on your present employer by remaining.
What the heck is an “are job”, or an “are way”?
While my area of expertise is not one that would get me hired at Koch Industries, if I did work for them their efforts to influence public policy would not be a good enough reason to leave. Having to live and work in Kansas is another story. :eek:
I have a friend who works for Halliburton. Does that count?
The Kochs support liberal causes that are important to me. I don’t really agree with many of the other causes they support, but I don’t know that it’s a net negative. I’m sure I could say the same about someone like George Soros. There really aren’t any big time political donors with very consistent and agreeable political ideologies.
In a heartbeat. Actually I wouldn’t be working for them in the first place because I’ve known about them long before I was last looking for work. I think they’re revolting and since I do, I couldn’t possibly in good conscience work for them or a related firm. I have pretty low self-esteem but if I will say one thing about myself it’s that I do my damnedest not to be a hypocrite.
…At least, not a knowing hypocrite. It’s possible the people I’ve done work for in the past have baggage as well, but a) it can’t possibly be the massive cargo that the Koch brothers possess, and b) I didn’t (and still don’t) know about whatever-it-is my past clients/employers did, so at worst that would make me ignorant, not hypocritical.
That said, I have the “luxury” of being a freelancer (in scare quotes because… it’s pretty freakin’ hard to earn a living this way) and I think it’s easier to say no to prospective future clients than to quit a job one already has. So I won’t judge others who would choose to keep their jobs.
Well. Not that much, anyway. 