Union Bashing

On February 13, the Center for Union Facts ran full-page advertisements in the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal and staged some political theater, on a grand scale, outside of AFL-CIO headquarters to kick off the center's multimillion dollar "public education" campaign.

They erected a huge triceratops and arranged for picketers to march in a circle and educate the public with signs proclaiming "AFL-CIO: Colossal Fossil," "Smart Union Leaders: Extinct?" and "Labor Leaders: Dis-organized?"

The Center for Media and Democracy has done some research into the origins and activities of these stalwart defenders of truth, justice and the American way and have discovered that they are nothing more than Rick Berman's Newest Fiction. Berman is a lobbyist specializing in smear, personal attacks, and misinformation (if not outright lies). His clients include biotech, fast food franchises, and tobacco companies from which he has raised millions of dollars.

This is of course a campaign to shape public opinion. Berman doesn't outright diss rank and file union members. He limits his direct attacks to the labor leaders who helped bankrupt steel, auto, and airline companies because Berman knows there is still significant sympathy in the country for organized labor. Never-the-less he indirectly disparages every union member in the process - and the labor movement itself - by intent.

Once again, millions are spent to divide workers into good guys and bad guys. And once again, organized labor takes a hit for workers everywhere.