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August 18, 2006

Union "Facts" Campaign Linked to TABOR

As usual, Mr. Piccolo at NW Republican is off on an ignorant rant about "union thuggery." This time, he's breathlessly calling attention to an organization that tells all about union corruption – the Center for Union Facts. I actually heard about this group's planned advertising attack on unions yesterday and decided to check them out.

Their website is actually very unusual. It lists no history on the group, no Board of Directors, no staff (aside from Sarah Longwell), no street address, and no information about what type of organization it is (PAC? Non-profit? Foundation?). Fortunately, this is not the first anti-union attack launched by the Center for Union Facts, and others have already figured out who the group is.

Sourcewatch offers a fair run-down on the basics of the group. It is – gasp – an industry front group, headed by libertarian anti-environmental, anti-consumer, anti-worker lobbyist Rick Berman. He has a few other front groups, as well. Like Howard Rich and the rest of that nest of snakes involved in Cato, the Heritage Foundation, Americans for Tax Reform, etc. Helps them more effectively launder money and create the illusion of massive support for something that is really only supported by a few people with an ungodly amount of wealth.

David Sirota wrote a nice little overview of the group back in February.

Townhall.com - the official headquarters of the fringe right - sent out an alert today telling folks about the new so-called "Center for Union Facts." The site is so skewed, so over the top, so dishonest, I just had to check out who is behind it. Though UPI notes that the group is refusing to disclose who its donors are (shocker!), its executive director is none other than Rick Berman - one of the biggest corporate shills working in politics today.

Want to know a little bit about Mr. Berman? Here, chew on this:

HEAD OF NEW UNION BASHING GROUP IS LONGTIME ANTI-UNION CORPORATE LOBBYIST: "Berman has a history of representing tobacco firms, restaurant chains or beer distributors in fights against labor unions, consumer-health groups and efforts to raise the minimum wage." [Source: Detroit Free Press, 2/24/05]

HEAD OF NEW UNION BASHING GROUP FOUGHT AGAINST ANTI-DRUNK DRIVING LAWS: "A national campaign -- called MADDatGM -- has been launched with the backing of 17,000 bars, taverns and liquor stores to attack the automaker and Mothers Against Drunk Driving, mostly for their efforts to lower legal blood-alcohol levels...'We want to stop GM from contributing to MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). We have a problem with GM money going to criminalize social drinkers. GM needs to recognize it is attacking legitimate businesses,' said Rick Berman, the high-powered Washington D.C. lobbyist running the MADDatGM campaign." [Source: Detroit Free Press, 2/24/05]

HEAD OF NEW UNION BASHING GROUP WAS CORPORATE UNION BUSTER: "Bensinger even received a handwritten note from Rick Berman, a powerful Washington lobbyist who used to plan union avoidance strategies at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce." [Fortune, 9/28/98]

So basically, the head of this new group is a corporate lobbyist so bought off he's willing to go out and attack Mothers Against Drunk Driving on behalf of his corporate clients. That's the kind of wild-eyed right-wing lunatic the conservative movement is breeding - people solely focused on using the nexus of money and politics to cash in, no matter how extreme and distasteful they have to behave in public. With American workers having highly-paid extremist enemies like this roaming the nation's capital, it is no doubt that ordinary citizens' economic interests are regularly steamrolled in Washington, D.C.

Berman is behind several groups, such as ActivistCash.com (a website that works to smear consumer protection activists and protect companies who are producing unhealthy products), the Center for Consumer Freedom (another anti-consumer protection site that scoffs at "the Nanny Culture" that calls attention to health concerns associated with big corporate-produced foods), The Employment Policies Institute (which opposes any increases in the minimum wage), and the American Beverage Institute (whose arch-enemy is Mothers Against Drunk Driving).

Researching Berman is like opening a can of worms. So rather than going into all the myriad of issues related to his lobbying history and scandal history and connections, I decided instead to see whether I could find any connections between this sudden advertising campaign against unions and the fact that unions are the primary opponent of the TABOR measure.

One common denominator in the two seemingly disconnected networks (Berman's groups and the Cato Institute) is the Phillip Morris Company. Berman and numerous Cato Board members have both been heavily involved in trying to undermine arguments about the dangers of tobacco, and have received large amounts of money in return. Phillip Morris and Koch Industries (Koch founded and funds Cato) also have worked together to fight environmental regulations. The so-called "Cooler Heads Coalition" and the National Center for Public Policy show clear links in the anti-environmental, pro-corporate joint efforts of these major financial backers. Not coincidentally, Ron Berman's biased studies "debunking" assertions of environmentalists and consumer advocates are often quoted by these groups, as well as Cato.

But that doesn't really show anything more than some shared philosophical beliefs. I was still suspicious, however, that there was coordination occurring. Finally, this morning I found the links I was looking for.

Yesterday, three press releases were sent out by the Center for Union Facts:

This one said, "Today, the Center for Union Facts (CUF) unleashed the newest wave of its high-profile campaign to expose bad union leadership and the pain it causes Oregon taxpayers."

This one said, "Today, the Center for Union Facts (CUF) unleashed the newest wave of its high-profile campaign to expose bad union leadership and the pain it causes Michigan taxpayers."

And this one said, "Today, the Center for Union Facts (CUF) unleashed the newest wave of its high-profile campaign to expose bad union leadership and the pain it causes Montana taxpayers."

How interesting. Three press releases – and only three press releases – went out yesterday from the group announcing the launching of anti-union advertisements in three states – Oregon, Michigan, and Montana. Coincidentally (?), all three states are facing TABOR ballot measures this Fall. But what about Nevada and Missouri, which are also facing TABOR measures this year?

A little hint from Ed Waldo clears that up for us. Americans for Limited Government is holding an ALG Action Conference starting today in Chicago. You can find the detailed agenda for the meeting at the Heartland website. A very interesting session will begin this afternoon at 3:00 pm:

Understanding the opposition
Moderator: Paul Jacob (yes, that Term Limits guy and good pal of Howard Rich of TABOR fame)
Panelists: Mike Flynn, Union Facts
Union Facts Ads presentation
Patrick Tuohey, Missourians in Charge
Bob Adney, Take Back Nevada

There's your Missouri and Nevada link. Yes, the only anti-union efforts by this group right now are being launched simultaneously in five states where TABOR is on the ballot, and the target is the primary opponents of TABOR: unions.

As I am finding with all of these groups and individuals, there is so much to know that you really cannot write a simple blog post and even hope to pull it all together. But with Sandlapper's awesome work at the Daily Kos and Ed Waldo's fascinating research at Boregasm, bit-by-bit the picture is being filled out. So keep reading, do some research, and if you find something interesting, by all means let us know!

Posted by Becky at August 18, 2006 10:05 AM