# Timeshare tycoon: If Obama re-elected, "I'll have no choice but to reduce the size of this company." **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 10, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-tycoon-if-obama-re-elected-ill-have-no-choice-but-to-reduce-the-size-of-this-company/637270 "2012-10-10T00:33:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-tycoon-if-obama-re-elected-ill-have-no-choice-but-to-reduce-the-size-of-this-company/637270/81 "2012-10-16T21:33:17Z")
> [@Tarwater](#): > > And then, of course, he plagiarized his attempt to bully his employees from a spam chain letter. Dude is classy. :rolleyes: A lot of these assholes are doing this. the most famous ones are the Koch brothers, but they are not the only ones. It’s a threat - “vote how I say or I will fire you”. that’s what they are up to with this bull shit. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-tycoon-if-obama-re-elected-ill-have-no-choice-but-to-reduce-the-size-of-this-company/637270/82 "2012-10-16T21:37:50Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > See? Fair and balanced! Yup 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-tycoon-if-obama-re-elected-ill-have-no-choice-but-to-reduce-the-size-of-this-company/637270/83 "2012-10-16T21:42:15Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > How is this not blatantly illegal voter intimidation? That’s exactly my question. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-tycoon-if-obama-re-elected-ill-have-no-choice-but-to-reduce-the-size-of-this-company/637270/84 "2012-10-18T23:35:07Z")
Apparently the CEO in the OP was following Romney’s orders. Or rather, the advice Romney imparted to his fellow plutocrats last June: [QUOTE=Mitt Romney] I hope you make it very clear to your employees what you believe is in the best interest of your enterprise and therefore their job and their future in the upcoming elections. And whether you agree with me or you agree with President Obama, or whatever your political view, I hope, I hope you pass those along to your employees. [/QUOTE] Cite: [http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/14046/romney\_instructed\_employers\_to\_tell\_employees\_how\_to\_vote\_in\_conference\_cal](http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/14046/romney_instructed_employers_to_tell_employees_how_to_vote_in_conference_cal) Thanks to the _Citizens United_ decision, such corporate politicking is entirely legal. University of Marquette Law Professor Paul Secunda: It is conceivable, under the current legal regime, that an employer like Koch could actually get away with forcing his employees, on pains of termination, to campaign for a given candidate or political party. Romney also supported the Blunt Amendment during the Republican primary, which says that _any_ employer can deny their workers insurance coverage for contraception, provide that employer feels like it. More reason to believe that this could be a close race. h/t Kevin Drum ---
**Author:** ![duchessofdork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@duchessofdork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duchessofdork)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-tycoon-if-obama-re-elected-ill-have-no-choice-but-to-reduce-the-size-of-this-company/637270/85 "2012-10-19T05:47:03Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Dear Mr. Seigel: > > Thank you so much for your recent letter that you copied and pasted to your employees. I have been in the market for a timeshare, but had not realized that your company was in such a precarious financial state. I appreciate the candor with which you shared your inability to weather such an ordinary state of affairs as the re-election of a president who has presided over some of the lowest tax rates in recent history. > > Since your company (by your own admission) seems to be teetering on the point of collapse, I will certainly not consider investing in anything you own or promote. I will also be telling everyone I can about your announcement of your inability to proceed successfully in business. > > Good luck in whatever career you try next after your company fails. I’d suggest you don’t try anything that calls for original thought or writing though. > > Yours sincerely, > > A formerly interested customer Dude. I ended up at a Westgate resort after I made a Hotwire reservation, and it was the worst travel experience I’d ever had. The check-in agent called me a stuck-up bitch because I declined the “complimentary property tour and question/answer session”, and my toddler found a crack pipe on the unit’s balcony. It was INSANE. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-tycoon-if-obama-re-elected-ill-have-no-choice-but-to-reduce-the-size-of-this-company/637270/86 "2012-10-19T13:26:13Z")
You got a free crack pipe and you’re _still_ complaining? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-tycoon-if-obama-re-elected-ill-have-no-choice-but-to-reduce-the-size-of-this-company/637270/87 "2012-10-20T12:08:10Z")
I actually sat through one of this dufus’s sales harangues once (in Orlando)-my wife made the mistake of checking off the “free” presentation/“breakfast”. It ended when I told the salesman that I was calling the Orlando police and filing charges against him. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-tycoon-if-obama-re-elected-ill-have-no-choice-but-to-reduce-the-size-of-this-company/637270/88 "2012-10-20T15:08:07Z")
😕 Police? Filing charges? Elaborate, please. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-tycoon-if-obama-re-elected-ill-have-no-choice-but-to-reduce-the-size-of-this-company/637270/89 "2012-10-20T15:13:31Z")
Kidnapping. They harangue you until you agree to buy a “timeshare”. I told the guy I wasn’t-he persisted-so that’s when I threatened to call the cops. He backed off. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2012, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-tycoon-if-obama-re-elected-ill-have-no-choice-but-to-reduce-the-size-of-this-company/637270/90 "2012-10-20T15:37:47Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > You got a free crack pipe and you’re _still_ complaining? 😉 My false teeth have been spat down into the quarry, never to be retrieved, thank you for that kind sir. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-tycoon-if-obama-re-elected-ill-have-no-choice-but-to-reduce-the-size-of-this-company/637270/91 "2012-10-21T02:15:14Z")
In some states, political views are a protected class. And in California, not only retaliation is unlawful, but just the hint of it can get an employer in trouble. If I worked for this guy in California, I’d make it known to him that I’d be voting for Obama. Then, if he tries to “downsize” me, I’d sue him for retaliation ---
**Author:** ![duchessofdork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@duchessofdork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duchessofdork)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-tycoon-if-obama-re-elected-ill-have-no-choice-but-to-reduce-the-size-of-this-company/637270/92 "2012-10-21T14:16:57Z")
We had our crappy experience in Orlando, too. I Hotwired a room the night before our Disney package began so we could drive down. Disney ended up giving us a free room that night because I called asking if they had anything available anywhere on the property, so our vacation was saved. > [@ralph124c](#): > > I actually sat through one of this dufus’s sales harangues once (in Orlando)-my wife made the mistake of checking off the “free” presentation/“breakfast”. > It ended when I told the salesman that I was calling the Orlando police and filing charges against him. ---
**Author:** ![duchessofdork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@duchessofdork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duchessofdork)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2012, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-tycoon-if-obama-re-elected-ill-have-no-choice-but-to-reduce-the-size-of-this-company/637270/93 "2012-10-21T14:19:23Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > You got a free crack pipe and you’re _still_ complaining? 😉 I feel like they could have at least left some resin in it. Some people are so inconsiderate. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-tycoon-if-obama-re-elected-ill-have-no-choice-but-to-reduce-the-size-of-this-company/637270/94 "2012-11-09T04:57:34Z")
Well, this guy hasn’t fired anyone yet. In fact, it looks like he’s giving his workers a raise: [http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-11-07/david-siegel-hasnt-fired-anyone-yet](http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-11-07/david-siegel-hasnt-fired-anyone-yet) > [@](#): > > **Are you going to lay off employees as you suggested in your memo?** > I don’t know. I’m going to work my hardest to keep the company going and expand the best I can. We’ll see what happens. Meanwhile I gave everybody in the company a raise this week—the average was 5 percent. I wanted to help them handle the additional burdens the government will put on them. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-tycoon-if-obama-re-elected-ill-have-no-choice-but-to-reduce-the-size-of-this-company/637270/95 "2012-11-09T06:35:28Z")
Talk about your mexed missages. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-tycoon-if-obama-re-elected-ill-have-no-choice-but-to-reduce-the-size-of-this-company/637270/96 "2012-11-09T06:58:39Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > Well, this guy hasn’t fired anyone yet. In fact, it looks like he’s giving his workers a raise: In a follow-up, Westgate employees counter-offered to take a five percent pay cut in exchange for David Siegel keeping his pre-election promise to leave the company and move out of the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-tycoon-if-obama-re-elected-ill-have-no-choice-but-to-reduce-the-size-of-this-company/637270/97 "2012-11-09T09:30:05Z")
Different guy, but some pink slips did go out citing Obama’s re-election. Huff Post article: [Las Vegas CEO Reportedly Fired 22 Workers Because Of Obama’s Reelection](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/08/david-las-vegas-ceo-fired-workers_n_2093369.html) And on the day after the election [Boeing announced major job cuts](http://www.cnbc.com/id/49729998) in its defense division. Re-election was not explicitly cited and this is seen as a last step in a long restructuring. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-tycoon-if-obama-re-elected-ill-have-no-choice-but-to-reduce-the-size-of-this-company/637270/98 "2012-11-09T18:32:06Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > Different guy, but some pink slips did go out citing Obama’s re-election. > > Huff Post article: [Las Vegas CEO Reportedly Fired 22 Workers Because Of Obama’s Reelection](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/08/david-las-vegas-ceo-fired-workers_n_2093369.html) What an assbag. Literally nothing has happened to change things for the worse int he last 3 goddamned days. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-tycoon-if-obama-re-elected-ill-have-no-choice-but-to-reduce-the-size-of-this-company/637270/99 "2012-11-09T18:38:05Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > David Siegel, CEO of timeshare company Westgate Resorts … . What a sorry whiney pathetic vindictive BITCH. I know he tried to not let his name get out when he was first interviewed- he must have a problem standing by his “beliefs”. But now that his name and his company’s name are out there, I sincerely hope his business base and customers vanish. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-tycoon-if-obama-re-elected-ill-have-no-choice-but-to-reduce-the-size-of-this-company/637270/100 "2012-11-09T18:59:28Z")
[102 Utah coal miners](http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865566367/102-Utah-miners-laid-off-because-of-war-on-coal-company-says.html) laid off because of Obama’s “War on Coal.” :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-tycoon-if-obama-re-elected-ill-have-no-choice-but-to-reduce-the-size-of-this-company/637270.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/timeshare-tycoon-if-obama-re-elected-ill-have-no-choice-but-to-reduce-the-size-of-this-company/637270.md?page=6)