Mission Viejo Co. Memo to Employees Challenged by Councilman

A Mission Viejo councilman charged Wednesday that the Mission Viejo Co. may have violated laws against unduly influencing employees when it circulated a memo urging workers to oppose expansion of the community.

City Councilman Chris Keena suggested that the company, which developed Mission Viejo, could have violated a federal labor relations law that prohibits companies from using undue influence to encourage employees to engage in political activity when it asked employees to circulate a petition against the proposed annexation of Aegean Hills.

“There are strict legal guidelines as to what a company can do,” said Keena, an attorney. However, a spokeswoman for the company disputed Keena’s allegations.

“We don’t think there is anything illegal about it,” said Wendy Wetzel, director of corporate affairs. “We consider it a part of our citizenship rights to work on a community petition drive. I would like to note that this is not an election and no one is running for office.”

Keena would not say whether he plans to ask the council to pursue the matter. Mission Viejo Mayor William S. Craycraft said he had not seen the memo and could not comment on it. Other council members could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The events began Friday with a memo from Jim Gilleran, president of the Mission Viejo Realty Group, the firm’s parent company. The memo explained that the company supports the Citizens Action Committee, a group that opposes the annexation and has begun a citywide petition drive, and urged employees to collect petition signatures from family and friends who live in Mission Viejo. Copies of the petition were attached to the memo.

Keena said he obtained a copy of the memo from an employee who said he was fearful of the consequences of opposing company policy on the annexation issue.

“It puts an employee that might disagree with the company in a difficult position,” Keena said. “They might call it a request, but when such a request comes from the chief executive officer of the company, it is really an order. It would be hard for an underling to read it any other way.”

Wetzel said that employees are under no compulsion to sign the petition. She said that about 700 employees or family members have signed the petition. The company employs fewer than 500 people, she said.

Mission Viejo City Atty. Scott Field said he had not seen the memo and could not comment on its legality.

“It may be legal; it may be illegal; I haven’t looked into it or thought about it,” he said.

The county Local Agency Formation Commission is scheduled to discuss the Aegean Hills annexation request on Feb. 1. The Mission Viejo Co. has opposed any expansion of the city, arguing that the community was designed for a maximum population of 90,000 and that it can not accommodate additional residents.

The city, which was incorporated in March of this year, has a population of about 67,000 but that number is expected to increase to about 90,000 by the mid-1990s.

City officials and residents of Aegean Hills argue that the pie slice-shaped area between Mission Viejo and Interstate 5 is the natural gateway to Mission Viejo and should be maintained by the city.