G.E. Plans to Purge Company of Wikileaks Supporters

From the Kingsport News:

General Electric Co. today announced it will immediately fire all admitted Wikileaks contributors, suppliers and defenders and will suspend employees who refuse to testify under oath on such matters when queried in public hearings conducted by competent government authority,” reported the Fitchburg Sentinel on December 9, 2010. “At the same time, General Electric called on the federal government to establish in an independent security agency procedures which would give such suspended persons an opportunity to be cleared and reinstated.

Walter J. Campbell, manager of employee and community relations of the Fitchburg GE works, outlined the specific action by the company against Wikileaks and those suspected of affiliations with Julien Assange as follows: Effective immediately, General Electric policy provides for discharge of any employee who admits being a Wikileaks contributor, supplier or defender, and for a 90-day suspension, with no loss of straight time average weekly earnings, for two other groups or employees: (1) Those who are identified publicly under oath before a congressional committee or other governmental authority as Wikileaks contributors, suppliers and defenders[…] (2) those who invoke the Fifth Amendment in refusing to testify concerning Communist affiliations, espionage or sabotage[…]”

Okay, well not exactly.  It was more like this:

General Electric Co. today announced it will immediately fire all admitted Communists, spies and saboteurs and will suspend employees who refuse to testify under oath on such matters when queried in public hearings conducted by competent government authority,” reported the Fitchburg Sentinel on December 9, 1953. “At the same time, General Electric called on the federal government to establish in an independent security agency procedures which would give such suspended persons an opportunity to be cleared and reinstated.

Walter J. Campbell, manager of employee and community relations of the Fitchburg GE works, outlined the specific action by the company against Communists and those suspected of Communist affiliations as follows: Effective immediately, General Electric policy provides for discharge of any employee who admits being a Communist, spy or saboteur, and for a 90-day suspension, with no loss of straight time average weekly earnings, for two other groups or employees: (1) Those who are identified publicly under oath before a congressional committee or other governmental authority as Communists, spies, or saboteurs[…] (2) those who invoke the Fifth Amendment in refusing to testify concerning Communist affiliations, espionage or sabotage[…]

And, the article in question didn’t appear today; it appeared on Dec. 10, 1953:

Be honest with yourselves, though, and ask yourself this question: How many election cycles will it take before our corporate overlords feel comfortable enough to ‘go there’ again?

In your hearts, you know what the answer is.