March 2, by artist Terry Ward #GrumpyVisualArtist
UPDATE
What rearkable speed! On March 1, within 72 hours of not-filling-out the employment application follow-up survey's political questions (officially
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Feb. 26, 2018 by artist Terry Ward #GrumpyVisualArtist
ORIGINAL
Why is a Rite-Aid/Walgreens employment application follow-up asking about Trump approval, political preference, the Florida school shooting, gun ownership, and whether I’d like to talk with a reporter about the issues?
As a struggling artist still seeking gallery representation, sometimes I need to do extra things to make ends meet. Several things fell through recently, making it a time of struggle: maybe night-clerking at the local Rite Aid would bring in extra dough. I filled out the online application and received an email soon afterward asking for me to fill out a survey.
It turned out to be two surveys in one: the first asked about the application process, but the second was a flat-out political questionnaire. The survey had a Walgreens logo on it though I applied at Rite Aid. Wikepedia cleared that up: apparently Walgreens bought most of Rite-Aid.
Do I like Donald Trump’s performance in office? (What?!?) What does the Florida school massacre make me feel like? Do I favor banning guns? Would I like to speak with a reporter about it? It felt like a screening test based on political beliefs and also like a recruiting tool for news outlets seeking a certain “grass roots” opinion to air. It was creepy, Orwellian, and totally not appropriate for a hiring follow-up.
I screencapped some of the more jaw-dropping questions and also documented some of the run-of-the-mill items too. If SurveyMonkey (the survey host site) or Rite Aid/Walgrens wants to claim some sort of copyright issue over the screencaps, I’ll claim journalistic fair use right back.
This needs to be seen. Are job candidates judged based on their politics, their willingness to be activists? And for which side?
The email said the survey would be “anonymous,” but since it came from a link to my email, it could easily be traced. There’s actually even a long history of paper “secret” ballots being traceable; a notable example appeared in William Shirer’s history of Nazi-era Germany
Even without a digital trace, they could easily enough match up the “anonymous” survey to the individual taker since required questions include one’s age, sex, ZIP code, and city. The survey is emailed to the applicant within 72 hours of filling out an application. Just how many X-year-old applicants from Y-city and Z-ZIP code would there be at the same time? Let’s find the application from Y-city and find the X-year-old and match up that person’s identity.
Here they ask outright for your political party:
Some screens said "SurveyMonkey News Survey," but there was no telling if it was made for Rite Aid/Walgreen's or if SurveyMonkey adds it. If the latter, is it with the approval of the candidate-seeking company?
Your age (an identifying clue) is required:
Your ZIP code (an identifying clue, especially when combined with age and sex) is required:
You can't go back and retake it:
An enterprising investigative reporter might apply for a Rite Aid position and see if a survey link is promptly emailed
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