Employers: Go out and vote
Workers urged to hit the polls
WASHINGTON - Former presidents, pro sports teams and pop singers aren’t the only ones calling for Americans to make sure to vote Nov. 6: More employers, too, are taking an increasingly active role in trying to get their workers to the polls on Election Day.
At Cava, the chain of Mediterranean fast-casual restaurants, its 1,600 workers will get two hours of paid time off to vote on Election Day this year if they request it in advance, a nationwide perk for its workers.
For the first time, Tyson Foods, the meat company, has launched a company-wide voter registration initiative, with many of its plants participating in an effort to register employees and offer details about early voting, absentee ballots and voting locations.
Levi Strauss & Co. has named volunteer “voting captains” in each of its offices and distribution centers to hold registration drives and educate workers; it’s also giving employees, including retail workers, paid time off to vote.
Many employers have held get-out-the-vote drives or encouraged workers to vote in past elections, and some companies have even made Election Day a corporate holiday. But in a year when interest in the midterm elections has reached a fever pitch, nonprofits that are focused on voter turnout say they’re seeing a noticeable uptick in the enthusiasm and creative approaches that many employers are using this year to get more workers to the polls — whether by closing stores or offices, making paid time off or flexible work arrangements available, or by trying to remove obstacles to voting, such as securing transportation for workers or discouraging meetings for the day.
A Vote.org project launched in March known as ElectionDay. org has gotten more than 250 employers, such as Pinterest or spirits maker Diageo, to sign on to offer some kind of paid time off or flexible leave on Election Day. TurboVote Challenge, an initiative by the nonpartisan group Democracy Works to involve employers in trying to boost voter turnout, said its number of corporate business partners grew from 18 in 2016 to 40 this year.
There are no federal laws requiring employers to give workers time off to vote. State regulations vary, from having no laws on the subject to mandating paid time off for several hours, according to the nonprofit Workplace Fairness.
Companies and staffers for get-out-the-vote nonprofits cite several reasons for the ramped up interest from employers, reasons that go beyond the heightened attention this year’s election is receiving. For instance, in an era where chief executives are speaking out about issues like immigration, climate change and gun control, there’s a greater expectation from employees that their companies get involved with civic responsibilities.