To my valued employees

[Gob]

Subject: Message from David Siegel
Date:Mon, 08 Oct 2012 13:58:05 -0400 (EDT)
From: [David Siegel]
To: [All employees]

To All My Valued Employees,

As most of you know our company, Westgate Resorts, has continued to succeed in spite of a very dismal economy. There is no question that the economy has changed for the worse and we have not seen any improvement over the past four years. In spite of all of the challenges we have faced, the good news is this: The economy doesn't currently pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is another 4 years of the same Presidential administration. Of course, as your employer, I can't tell you whom to vote for, and I certainly wouldn't interfere with your right to vote for whomever you choose. In fact, I encourage you to vote for whomever you think will serve your interests the best.

However, let me share a few facts that might help you decide what is in your best interest.The current administration and members of the press have perpetuated an environment that casts employers against employees. They want you to believe that we live in a class system where the rich get richer, the poor get poorer. They label us the "1%" and imply that we are somehow immune to the challenges that face our country. This could not be further from the truth. Sure, you may have heard about the big home that I'm building. I'm sure many people think that I live a privileged life. However, what you don't see or hear is the true story behind any success that I have achieved.

I started this company over 42 years ago. At that time, I lived in a very modest home. I converted my garage into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a company, which by the way, would eventually employ you. We didn't eat in fancy restaurants or take expensive vacations because every dollar I made went back into this company. I drove an old used car, and often times, I stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and partying. In fact, I was married to my business — hard work, discipline, and sacrifice. Meanwhile, many of my friends got regular jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a nice income, and they spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes. My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put my time, my money, and my life into this business —-with a vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able to afford to buy whatever I wanted. Even to this day, every dime I earn goes back into this company. Over the past four years I have had to stop building my dream house, cut back on all of my expenses, and take my kids out of private schools simply to keep this company strong and to keep you employed.

Just think about this – most of you arrive at work in the morning and leave that afternoon and the rest of your time is yours to do as you please. But not me- there is no "off" button for me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend all to yourself. I unfortunately do not have that freedom. I eat, live, and breathe this company every minute of the day, every day of the week. There is no rest. There is no weekend. There is no happy hour. I know many of you work hard and do a great job, but I'm the one who has to sign every check, pay every expense, and make sure that this company continues to succeed. Unfortunately, what most people see is the nice house and the lavish lifestyle. What the press certainly does not want you to see, is the true story of the hard work and sacrifices I've made.

Now, the economy is falling apart and people like me who made all the right decisions and invested in themselves are being forced to bail out all the people who didn't. The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed 42 years of my life for. Yes, business ownership has its benefits, but the price I've paid is steep and not without wounds. Unfortunately, the costs of running a business have gotten out of control, and let me tell you why: We are being taxed to death and the government thinks we don't pay enough. We pay state taxes, federal taxes, property taxes, sales and use taxes, payroll taxes, workers compensation taxes and unemployment taxes. I even have to hire an entire department to manage all these taxes. The question I have is this: Who is really stimulating the economy? Is it the Government that wants to take money from those who have earned it and give it to those who have not, or is it people like me who built a company out of his garage and directly employs over 7000 people and hosts over 3 million people per year with a great vacation?

Obviously, our present government believes that taking my money is the right economic stimulus for this country. The fact is, if I deducted 50% of your paycheck you'd quit and you wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? Who wants to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, that's what happens to me.

Here is what most people don't understand and the press and our Government has chosen to ignore – to stimulate the economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Instead of raising my taxes and depositing that money into the Washington black-hole, let me spend it on growing the company, hire more employees, and generate substantial economic growth. My employees will enjoy the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and better salaries. But that is not what our current Government wants you to believe. They want you to believe that it somehow makes sense to take more from those who create wealth and give it to those who do not, and somehow our economy will improve. They don't want you to know that the "1%", as they like to label us, pay more than 31% of all the taxes in this country. Thomas Jefferson, the author of our great Constitution, once said, "democracy" will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

Business is at the heart of America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate business, not kill it. However, the power brokers in Washington believe redistributing wealth is the essential driver of the American economic engine. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of change they want.

So where am I going with all this? It's quite simple. If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, as our current President plans, I will have no choice but to reduce the size of this company. Rather than grow this company I will be forced to cut back. This means fewer jobs, less benefits and certainly less opportunity for everyone.

So, when you make your decision to vote, ask yourself, which candidate understands the economics of business ownership and who doesn't? Whose policies will endanger your job? Answer those questions and you should know who might be the one capable of protecting and saving your job. While the media wants to tell you to believe the "1 percenters" are bad, I'm telling you they are not. They create most of the jobs. If you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the "1%"; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country.

You see, I can no longer support a system that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, so will your opportunities. If that happens, you can find me in the Caribbean sitting on the beach, under a palm tree, retired, and with no employees to worry about.

Signed, your boss,

David Siegel

Subject: Will the US Presidential election directly impact your future jobs at ASG? Please read below.

To all ASG employees,

We have been stuck in an extremely sick global economy, but as we should all know by now, the global economy largely depends on the US economy. This sick global economy has been negatively influencing ASG since December 2008. No one could have ever have dreamed that the US economy would still be sick 4 years later, but it is. We have a chance, as individuals, to help turn the sick US economy into a healthy economy, and positively influence the global economy as well. This chance comes on November 6th, when we elect a new President and administration. The US and the world need to elect individuals who have business experience. Neither the world nor the US can stand to elect politicians any longer. In my view, and in the view of most business leaders, if you give politicians 100 questions, they will give you back 100 wrong answers simply because they have no basis for making those decisions. Would you hire a person with no experience to do brain surgery? Of course not, but that's what the US voters did in 2009. Why does the world keep hiring politicians to run our global economies when they have no experience? It just makes no sense, and yet the world keeps doing it over and over again. Let's take the lead on November 6th and show the world how it should and can be done.

Many of you have been with ASG for over 5, 10, 15, and even 20 years. As you know, together, we have been able to keep ASG an independent company while still growing our revenues and customers. But I can tell you, if the US re-elects President Obama, our chances of staying independent are slim to none. I am already heavily involved in considering options that make our independence go away, and with that all of our lives would change forever. I believe that a new President and administration would give US citizens and the world the renewed confidence and optimism we all need to get the global economies started again, and give ASG a chance to stay independent. If we fail as a nation to make the right choice on November 6th, and we lose our independence as a company, I don't want to hear any complaints regarding the fallout that will most likely come. Remember, in the world of business, companies are consolidators or they get consolidated; so far ASG has been a consolidator, completing over 60 acquisitions in our 26 year history. When we buy a company, we eliminate about 60 percent of the salaries of the employees of that company. If we lose our independence and get consolidated, the same thing would happen to ASG's employees.

I am asking you to give us one more chance to stay independent by voting in a new President and administration on November 6th. Even then, we still might not be able to remain independent, but it will at least give us a chance. If we don't, that chance goes away.

I apologize for writing such a blunt email, but for those of you who have known me for years and years, you know that this must be serious, and it is. I am going to follow this email with an email to All Sales, offering all of our help to assist them in making Q4 the best quarter in ASG history. Business is hard to find, but it is out there if Sales just goes and gets it.

Mr. Allen

[rubato]

What a charmer!

If his employees have any balls all of them will vote for Obama and tell him so. He sells timeshares! Garbage.

yrs,
rubato

[Sue U]

What those shops need is an SEIU organizing drive.

[rubato]

This, btw, is the timeshare king with the 30-year younger trophy wife building 'Versailles'.


Sleazebag

[Sue U]

Workplace
When the Boss Is on Team Romney

By Diane Brady on October 18, 2012

Few who work for David Siegel would likely mistake their boss for a man of the people. The Florida time-share titan is building himself a 90,000-square-foot house modeled on Versailles and claims he personally got George W. Bush elected in 2000. Back then he’d slip partisan articles inside the pay envelopes of employees of his Westgate Resorts and helped Republicans on staff register to vote. Siegel’s political tactics made headlines this month when he sent thousands of employees an e-mail that promised dire consequences should Barack Obama win reelection. “If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, as our current President plans,” he wrote his workers, “I will have no choice but to reduce the size of this company.” That’s right: Vote Democrat and your job could be at risk. “I wanted to let my employees know what will come if they make the wrong choice. They need to worry if Obama gets reelected,” explains Siegel in an interview.

While Siegel is especially blunt about asking workers to vote for his man, he’s not the only employer sharing his political preference with the folks on his payroll. Earlier this month, Georgia Pacific’s 45,000 employees each received a packet in which David Robertson, president of Georgia Pacific’s parent, Koch Industries, warned of “higher gas prices, runaway inflation, and other ills” if they elect candidates who spend “billions in borrowed money on costly new subsidies for a few favored cronies.” Lest anyone working for a company controlled by the conservative billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch be confused about who they support, the packet—obtained by nonprofit political magazine In These Times—also listed favored candidates including Mitt Romney. (Georgia Pacific spokesman Greg Guest responded that the packet was informational, while noting unions and newspapers go further in actually endorsing candidates.)

ASG Software Solutions Chief Executive Officer Arthur L. Allen fired off a Sept. 30 e-mail linking the continued independence of the company to a Romney victory. On Sept. 28, Michigan auto parts manufacturer Richard Lacks sent a note along with staff bonuses, pointedly reminding thousands of employees that the more money the government gets, the less money is left to give them.

Having a politically opinionated boss is nothing new. What distinguishes the recent spate of C-suite missives is the overt suggestion that people may risk voting themselves out of a job. Yet while such tactics may be questionable, they’re almost never illegal. “Ethics and law don’t always match,” says Risa Lieberwitz, a labor and employment law professor at the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations. “While it seems undemocratic for someone who has that much power over you to tell you which way to vote, the law gives a lot of power to private-sector employers.”

Not only are CEOs free to pepper their workers with frequent reminders of how to vote, they’re generally free to fire individuals who fight back. Hit “reply all” to counter the boss’s political stance and you might be fired for misusing company e-mail. Or defy your supervisor’s worldview through social media and it can derail your career. Just ask Daniel Ray Carter Jr., the Virginia sheriff’s deputy who says he was fired for supporting the boss’s political opponent, including “liking” him on Facebook. In May, U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson found that pressing the “like” button on a Facebook page is insufficient speech to warrant First Amendment protections. The case is on appeal.

That’s not to say opinionated employers can’t run afoul of other workplace protections. A boss’s support for free markets doesn’t mean workers can be fired if they unionize, nor can they stop communications related to workplace conditions. Promoting a candidate’s extreme views on, say, rape or African Americans could foster a hostile work environment or lead to charges of discrimination. Some states, including California and Oregon, protect employees’ rights to engage in political activities, and in the District of Columbia, one’s political affiliation is even considered a protected class.

Still, federal laws have made it practically impossible for people to shut the boss up. Besides allowing corporations to spend unlimited amounts to support or defeat candidates, the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission also made it easier for companies to encourage workers to vote for a particular candidate. The boss could already try to sway workers by telling them where candidates stood on issues important to the company, but they can go further now that many limits on corporate campaign speech have been lifted. “That includes allowing employers to say which way they’d like individuals to vote,” notes Frank Morris, who runs the labor law practice for Washington-based Epstein Becker Green.

With emotions running high in the political arena, the most potent curb on business leaders may simply be common sense. “The discussions can get out of hand,” Morris says. “We get a lot of calls from employers who want to prevent acrimony. They’re worried about productivity and morale.”

Not David Siegel. He is determined to talk up the need for a new man in the Oval Office. “We businessmen are so tired of being vilified when we create all the jobs and pay most of the taxes,” he says. “Thank God I come to work everyday and employ 7,000 people.”

The bottom line: Some businessmen are increasingly vocal about how they think their workers should vote. There are few legal limits on their speech.

With Susan Berfield
Brady is senior editor at Bloomberg Businessweek in New York.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/20 ... eam-romney

[oldr_n_wsr]

The boss is not there in the voting booth with you.
When I worked for Motorola, they had their own PAC that they would solicit contributions with your pay stubs.
Unions typically donate some portion of their dues to candidates they favor.
Actors/actresses and other entertainers give thier opinions on the candidate they favor.

Again, the person doing the voting is alone in the booth (or cube now-a-days with sharpie in hand) and can vote for whomever they prefer.

[dgs49]

The letter, if you care to think about it, is not a particular employer talking to his particular employees. It is about what it takes to build and maintain a business, and how this Administration perceives the U.S. in economic terms.

Time shares are one of the most repellent aspects of life, one of the worst expenditures of money ever devised, and this is borne out by the fact that 99% of the people who are coerced into listening to their damnable sales presentations walk out without buying.

But what the guy is talking about is true.

And the responses here are priceless.

[Long Run]

It is obnoxious when the CEO, or the Union, or the minister, or whoever has the arrogance to presume to "educate" those who are forced to listen about how they should vote.

[Lord Jim]

Time shares are one of the most repellent aspects of life, one of the worst expenditures of money ever devised, and this is borne out by the fact that 99% of the people who are coerced into listening to their damnable sales presentations walk out without buying.

Time shares are one of the worst value vacation dollar expenditures one can make, but I've got no complaints about the presentations...

Over the years we've been to three of them. Each time they were giving away $100 American express or Visa gift cards for attending. Spent an hour watching their power point and video pitch, another half hour or so dealing with a cloyingly friendly and chipper hard-sell sales rep, and then walked out and had a nice meal on their dime....

I would never in a million years buy a time share, but I'm a big fan of the presentations....

[oldr_n_wsr]

I got two 19" color TV's and lunch listening to their sales pitch.

[dgs49]

Are we now officially on a "timeshare" tangent?

A couple years ago I was vacationing in Puerta Vallarta. One characteristic of PV is that there is not much to do there OTHER THAN go off on guided excursions to islands, beaches, and what have you, and those excursions are god-awful expensive.

So this little community has concocted a mini-industry in which every breathing, English-speaking male between the ages of 18 and 40 is "giving away" "free" tickets to the various attractions, in exchange for your sitting through a timeshare presentation. Whether it is a waiter, a store clerk, a cab driver, or bartender, they all are in on the scam. Seems harmless enough, right?

But the sales campaign is absolutely relentless. They make the first pitch for the timeshare condo: say, $20,000 for a week in this resort, in perpetuity. Of course, that $20k doesn't include transportation, food, cleaning, maintenance, etc., etc., etc., all of which must be paid every year when you use it. On the "upside," if you don't want to go THERE, you can pick from one of a gazillion other comparable places around the world. For a small additional fee.

"I don't want it. Not for me."

So Jose says, that's fine. "Just go over here and talk to Jose2, and he will give you your tickets to Paradise Island and you will be on your way."

Jose2 asks, "What was it that you didn't like? How can we get your business?"


"Too Expensive."

"Well, if I could get it for your for $15,000, would you buy it?"

No

"OK. Very well, I will pass you off to Jose3, he will give you your tickets and you can be on your way."

Jose 3, lowers the price and we go through it all over again. this time there are little exclamation points on my "No!"

Well, by the time we get to Jose12, they are trying to sell me a coupon book for vacations in Tijuana, and I'm still saying No, and threatening to call the police.

This is not as exaggerated as it might sound.

And yet, oddly, I have MANY acquanitances who not only have bought timeshares, but have bought more than 1. Go figure.

[oldr_n_wsr]

That reminds me, I went to a presentation while on vacation in Antigua. Got $100 to gamble in the casino. Made $200 more. Worth the hour the presentation took.

[dales]

Salespeople are parasites.

[oldr_n_wsr]

[Lord Jim]

Salespeople are parasites.

That was also Steve's view....

[Gob]

Salespeople are parasites.

That was also Steve's view....

Steve sold his electrical services, Steve was the epitome of the small businessman.

We know a few people who have time shares, I don't fancy one myself, but they seem happy enough.,

[Lord Jim]

Steve sold his electrical services, Steve was the epitome of the small businessman.

Strop, you don't remember about how Steve claimed that all "good" products and services should be able to sell themselves, and that people who earned a living in sales and marketing were the scum of the earth?

I remember responding when he came up with that lulu, (As I recall either Daisy or RB did as well.)

[MajGenl.Meade]

.....people who earned a living in sales and marketing were the scum of the earth?

That's why we need qualified financial consultants; to make sales and marketing people look good.

[rubato]

The element of manipulation and deceit in the marketing of mass-market products is morally repugnant even if the products are not directly harmful (Reagan selling cigarettes) or indirectly harmful (the useless loss of financial resources for nutraceuticals* ). The fact that the manipulators are operating with a differential of sophistication which is vastly greater than that of the manipulated puts their behavior in the category of gross exploitation, like cheating children at cards for money.

"Back in the Day", in the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th century advertising and sales were more naive and thus more defensible than they are today as merely a means of communication but the combination of new media which are more powerful vehicles to shape emotions and a deeper understanding of the way the human mind reacts to images and ideas has made the whole enterprise really nasty.**

But speaking of financial advisers:

Other than a single visit (not per year) to sort out financial goals and habits; financial advisers are selling a service which costs more than the benefit for most of the population, even when they are not the lying swine who are 'captive' and work on commission.

yrs,
rubato

* There is a technician at work who already lives on the edge financially who periodically falls victim to a nutraceutical ploy which would cost $30 -60 a month for a supplement which will only make his pee expensive; ($360.00 - $720.00 per year) money which he can ill afford to lose.

**
And I haven't even gotten into the "Swift boat veterans for wholesale lying" aspects of it.