Woman lost job for sporting Kerry sticker on car

[Tiger Al 0]

MOULTON — Lynne Gobbell never imagined the cost of a John Kerry-John Edwards bumper sticker could run so high. Lynne Gobbell said her boss fired her last week because of the Kerry-Edwards campaign sticker on the back of her car. 

Gobbell of Moulton didn't pay a cent for the sticker that she proudly displays on the rear windshield of her Chevrolet Lumina, but said it cost her job at a local factory after it angered her boss, Phil Gaddis.

Gaddis, a Decatur bankruptcy attorney, owns Enviromate, a cellulose insulation company in Moulton.

Gaddis did not return phone calls from THE DAILY about the alleged Thursday firing.

Gobbell said she consulted a lawyer, but then changed her mind about going to see him. She said she has cried about the incident and must do without income for three weeks while the state unemployment commission decides if she is eligible for compensation.

Gobbell said she was averaging 50 to 60 hours a week on the plant's bagging machine.

"The lady there (at the unemployment commission) said that she has never heard of a firing like this before," Gobbell said.

Gobbell gave this account:

"We were going back to work from break, and my manager told me that Phil said to remove the sticker off my car or I was fired," she said. "I told him that Phil couldn't tell me who to vote for. He said, 'Go tell him.' "

She went to Gaddis' office, knocked on the door and entered on his orders.

"Phil and another man who works there were there," she said. "I asked him if he said to remove the sticker and he said, 'Yes, I did.' I told him he couldn't tell me who to vote for. When I told him that, he told me, 'I own this place.' I told him he still couldn't tell me who to vote for."

Gobbell said Gaddis told her to "get out of here."

"I asked him if I was fired and he told me he was thinking about it," she said. "I said, 'Well, am I fired?' He hollered and said, 'Get out of here and shut the door.' "

She said her manager was standing in another room and she asked him if that meant for her to go back to work or go home. The manager told her to go back to work, but he came back a few minutes later and said, " 'I reckon you're fired. You could either work for him or John Kerry,' " Gobbell said.

"I took off my gloves and threw them in the garbage and left," Gobbell said.

Though she is unemployed and uncertain if she will get her job back, Gobbell said, she doesn't regret her decision to keep the sticker on her windshield.

"I would like to find another job, but I would take that job back because I need to work," she said. "It upset me and made me mad that he could put a letter in my check expressing his (political) opinion, but I can't put something on my car expressing mine."

She was referring to a flier that she said Gaddis placed in employee envelopes to remind them of the positive impact that President Bush's policies have had on them. An employee at the plant who would not identify himself confirmed the contents of the letter.

Gobbell provided a copy of the flier. It says:

"Just so you will know, because of the Bush tax (cut):

I was able to buy the new Hammer Mill

I was able to finance our receivables

I was able to get the new CAT skid steer

I was able to get the wire cutter

I was able to give you a job"

It further says:

"You got the benefit of the Bush tax cut. Everyone did."

LINK

[AUloggerhead 2,229]

1 Kerry/Edwards sticker = 1 50-60 hr/week job. This poor woman is ignorant of the most basic of economic theory. I wonder if she is a recipient of an Alabama public education. This is a travesty.

[DKW 86 7,419]

Gaddis is a Democrat, last I heard.

The BS factor on this story is just way too high.

[AURainman 6]

Sad story. I hope more people aren't as ignorant as that narrow-minded boss.

[Tiger in Spain 0]

I'm going with David on this one. Sounds too fishy to me.

[CarolinaTiger 0]

didn't read the story yet, but if its true, then this is just further proof that Kerry is bad for jobs, bad for employment, bad for the country!

K stands for "Knot Gonna Work Here!"

ct

[CarolinaTiger 0]

it appears, technically, that he wasn't telling her who she had to vote for...

this thing is too ripe to believe. was dan rather involved? kitty?

[Tiger Al 0]

1 Kerry/Edwards sticker = 1 50-60 hr/week job.  This poor woman is ignorant of the most basic of economic theory.  I wonder if she is a recipient of an Alabama public education.  This is a travesty.

And you are ignorant of one of our most basic civil rights. There's a little passage in the Bill of Rights that covers this sort of thing. Of course, if she were bombing some country based on her unwavering principles you'd be singing her praises.

Gaddis is a Democrat, last I heard.

Yeah, Zell Miller claims to be one, too.

[rexbo 104]

Was the person who forged the Bush Memos, exercising their freedom of speech too?

[Tiger Al 0]

Was the person who forged the Bush Memos, exercising their freedom of speech too?

That seems to be a conclusion that has yet to be supported by any fact. One of the experts who originally said that no typewriter existed at that time using that font and used superscript remembered that IBM made the Selectric Composer and it had those features. Also, some other documents that Bush himself offered has superscript.

Developing..........................................................................................

[CarolinaTiger 0]

c'mon al...come clean. do you think the memos are forgeries or authentic?

i know...i know...you can't know...but what do you believe?

[Tiger Al 0]

c'mon al...come clean. do you think the memos are forgeries or authentic?

i know...i know...you can't know...but what do you believe?

We'll see.

[TrueBlue72 0]

When I read the article, it never said she was fired, it said he was thinking about it. It goes on to say that she threw her gloves in the trash and left....... sounds like she quit to me!!!!

Does the company have a policy regarding political literature on company property? If it does, she was likely violating it by bringing her car into the parking lot.

You have to read these "media" reports very carefully and not take them at face value, as we all know the bias that filters down in the media even to the local levels.

[Tiger Al 0]

When I read the article, it never said she was fired, it said he was thinking about it. It goes on to say that she threw her gloves in the trash and left....... sounds like she quit to me!!!!

Does the company have a policy regarding political literature on company property? If it does, she was likely violating it by bringing her car into the parking lot.

You have to read these "media" reports very carefully and not take them at face value, as we all know the bias that filters down in the media even to the local levels.

For what purpose would an employer ever feel he had the right or duty to decide what political stickers an employee could put on her own car? Please explain this. Furthermore, if he was so concerned about political statements then maybe he should've led by example and not put letters like this in their paychecks:

"Just so you will know, because of the Bush tax (cut):

I was able to buy the new Hammer Mill

I was able to finance our receivables

I was able to get the new CAT skid steer

I was able to get the wire cutter

I was able to give you a job"

It further says:

"You got the benefit of the Bush tax cut. Everyone did."

Sounds like he's trying to intimidate a few independents to me.

[LegalEagle 22]

He should've had her neutered then fired her! Right Guys?

(Just trying to fit in here! *grin*)

[WarTim 3,456]

Just think. If she had only used the kerry/pretty hair guy sticker to cover up the toll ride sticker on her bumper, she would still have a job!

[Tiger in Spain 0]

Gobbell said she consulted a lawyer, but then changed her mind about going to see him. She said she has cried about the incident and must do without income for three weeks while the state unemployment commission decides if she is eligible for compensation.

This is what gets me, IF this really happened, then it would appear to be an open and shut case of discrimination plain and simple. Go to court and become the new owner of Enviromate. There's not an ambulance chaser in the world that wouldn't take the case. Why did she decide not to see the lawyer she initially consulted rather than cry about the incident? 2+2 isn't equaling 4 here, in my opinion. Something else is going on that isn't being reported.

[LegalEagle 22]

You are not suggesting that there are ethical lawyers are you?

[rexbo 104]

There's not an ambulance chaser in the world that wouldn't take the case.

Because we now live in a fascist society, whatever lawyer dared to take this case would lose his license, and probably be a target for assisination by Bush's brownshirted bloggers. Remember, Bush has thrown away the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Oh no, what if Ashcroft sees my post pointing this out, subpoenas this website and gets my ID?? Well, it was nice knowing you guys...

But before I am discovered and drug off to Guantanamo, according to a letter writer in our newspaper a few weeks ago, some woman I guess visiting from Canada, she pointed out that Bush is bringing all of those troops and tanks home from Europe to quell the riots that are going to occur when he steals the election this fall. (She didn't explain how the 7-10 year re-deployment plan was going to get the equipment back in time.) So, we all need to go out and get our assault weapons to fight back against this fascist government we now live under. (I wonder why our fascist leader would allow us to have assault weapons?)

[Tiger Al 0]

(I wonder why our fascist leader would allow us to have assault weapons?)

Because he knows you can kill more Democrats and other societal untouchables a lot faster with an assault rifle.

[Tiger in Spain 0]

You are not suggesting that there are ethical lawyers are you?

I'll be the first to admit there are some great ethical lawyers. They are overshadowed and, one might even argue, outnumbered by the slimey ambulance chasers, but there are some good lawyers out there.

Ethics would dictate in this instance that if the woman were indeed the victim of an unjust firing simply because of her political beliefs, she should be compensated for what she went through.

If there is a case here, then this woman needs to quit squalling and do what has to be done. What amazes me is that some crooked, pompous, bad hairpiece wearing shyster with $$ in his eyes hasn't jumped all over this one in order to get his 15 minutes of free publicity and make a name for himself.

Something is wrong with this story though. Something big is being left out.

[rexbo 104]

(I wonder why our fascist leader would allow us to have assault weapons?)

Because he knows you can kill more Democrats and other societal untouchables a lot faster with an assault rifle.

Hmm, then why didn't Hitler allow the people to have any weapons? They could have killed the Jews quicker, and been armed when the US, Brits and Russians invaded.

[Tiger Al 0]

(I wonder why our fascist leader would allow us to have assault weapons?)

Because he knows you can kill more Democrats and other societal untouchables a lot faster with an assault rifle.

Hmm, then why didn't Hitler allow the people to have any weapons? They could have killed the Jews quicker, and been armed when the US, Brits and Russians invaded.

You said it yourself in your last post.

Because we now live in a fascist society, whatever lawyer dared to take this case would lose his license, and probably be a target for assisination by Bush's brownshirted bloggers.

Everybody knows that republicans outnumber Democrats by 9 or 10:1 in this country and we rarely ever carry guns to protect ourselves. That's what we've relied on you for.

[jaydubb121 22]

I've got your front, Al, I mean your back.

[CCTAU 3,325]

(I wonder why our fascist leader would allow us to have assault weapons?)

Because he knows you can kill more Democrats and other societal untouchables a lot faster with an assault rifle.

Hmm, then why didn't Hitler allow the people to have any weapons? They could have killed the Jews quicker, and been armed when the US, Brits and Russians invaded.

You said it yourself in your last post.

Because we now live in a fascist society, whatever lawyer dared to take this case would lose his license, and probably be a target for assisination by Bush's brownshirted bloggers.

Everybody knows that republicans outnumber Democrats by 9 or 10:1 in this country and we rarely ever carry guns to protect ourselves. That's what we've relied on you for.

And you are welcome. Now give us the respect that we deserve for looking out after all of you.

Is Alabama a right to work state? If so, can't he fire her for whatever reason he wanted, other than race, religion, age, disability, national origin, equal pay, pregnancy, sex, or sexual harassment?