On Tuesday, Dave Portnoy, the founder of the Barstool Sports blog, issued a sharp warning to his employees: If you meet with a union organizer, you will be fired "on the spot":
There's just one problem with this — it's almost certainly against federal law. The National Labor Relations Act prohibits employers from "Threatening employees with loss of jobs or benefits if they join or vote for a union or engage in protected concerted activity" — and his decision to advertise his threat online makes it hard to deny.
His threat attracted the attention of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who promptly alerted him to the fact that his remarks were unlawful:
If you’re a boss tweeting firing threats to employees trying to unionize, you are likely breaking the law &can be s… https://t.co/7mNV0TDeeE— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1565717102.0
Undeterred, however, Portnoy lashed out at her with a demand that she "debate" him:
Hey @aoc welcome to thunder dome. Debate me. https://t.co/XEmEvt12N4— Dave Portnoy (@Dave Portnoy) 1565717846.0
Portnoy quickly fell under the full weight of the internet's mockery:
@stoolpresidente @AOC Idiots like you always trying to get a cynical piece of spotlight off of AOC's back. If you w… https://t.co/syfvobvi5f— Adrian Mathias Crawford (@Adrian Mathias Crawford) 1565722551.0
@stoolpresidente @AOC It will be way more satisfying to read about the massive fine you're about to pay for flagrantly breaking labor laws.— Eric (@Eric) 1565725015.0
@stoolpresidente @AOC Why do all these lightweight males keep demanding that AOC debate them?— Licensed cat picture liker (@Licensed cat picture liker) 1565722979.0
@stoolpresidente @AOC I mean, the debate could be in court,with a jury. You know that right?— m-TEA-Van-damned 🏴🔞🕷️🦇🍆🍺 (@m-TEA-Van-damned 🏴🔞🕷️🦇🍆🍺) 1565730141.0
