Speaking of creepy, there’s an ongoing and/or emerging anti-union propaganda campaign centered around a website and organization called The Center for Union Facts. The campaign accelerated with a recent ad in the Chicago Sun Times.
The website is here:
It’s pretty silly stuff really, but these things can have an impact even when they are basically nonsensical. (Repeat something long enough…)
Luckily, some smart folks out there have provided plenty of good information that exposes the center as another ‘big-lie’ ad campaign. A good place to start is the Center for Media and Democracy’s Source Watch:
project:http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_Union_Facts
In addition, the group American Rights at Work has a section called, “Exposing the Anti-Union Network” which discusses Union Facts and other similar groups:
http://www.americanrightsatwork.org/
Finally, here is labor writer Jonathan Tasini, quoting John Stauber, Executive Director, Center for Media and Democracy, in February of 2006:
“On February 13, a full-page advertisement in the New York Times and a media stunt involving a dinosaur announced a new union-bashing front group called Center for Union Facts. Who is behind the ad and their UnionFacts.com website? Nothing in the advertisement or the webpage mentions Rick Berman, but –Bingo! — that’s who owns the website domain name. Rick Berman is a right-wing lobbyist who has built a lucrative career establishing industry-funded front groups including FishScam.com, the Center for Consumer Freedom, the Employment Policies Institute, the Employment Roundtable and ActivistCash.com. Berman specializes in personal attacks, smear tactics and playing loose with the facts. He has raised millions of dollars from tobacco, booze, biotech, fast food, grocery and other businesses eager to have Berman do their dirty work. Another Rick Berman connection to the Center for Union Facts is Sarah Longwell, the group’s PR contact, who has also worked for Berman’s Employment Policies Institute.”
Tasini’s site is here: http://workinglife.org/; the quote above is from his Daily Blog entry of February 16, 2006.
