(Bloomberg) -- Sandal-maker Birkenstock said it would give its U.S. employees a paid holiday for the Nov. 3 U.S. presidential election, joining a movement aimed at encouraging workers to show up at the polls.
The company made the announcement on a conference call Wednesday with one of its high-profile customers, Bob Weir, a founding member of the band, The Grateful Dead. Weir is also on the board of headcount.org which registers people to vote at rock concerts.
Closely held Birkenstock, based in Germany, employs 200 in the U.S. Its sandals have long been a symbol of the American counter culture. David Kahan, chief executive officer of Birkenstock Americas, which oversees the U.S., said he wasn't taking the step in support of any political party.
“We are certainly not doing it to make a political statement or a social statement,” Kahan said. “We really just want to empower our workforce.”
Time to Vote, a coalition of businesses, says it has signed up more than 500 companies committed to helping their employees get information about voting and making election-day workplace accommodations such as the cancellation of meetings and paid time off. Social media company Twitter Inc. and outdoor clothing maker Patagonia Inc. have also said they will make the Nov. 3 general election a paid holiday.
About 56% of the U.S. voting age population cast ballots in the 2016 election, a turnout that ranks below its peers among highly developed, democratic nations, according to the Pew Research Center.
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