Union-Busters EXPOSED
Recently it seems like there has been more anti-union, anti-worker slime than usual oozing out of familiar corporate mouthpieces such as the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Such groups are also likely among the multimillion dollar backers of the egregiously misnamed Center for Union Facts, launched in February by sleaze propagandist Richard Berman. Among Berman's list of hatchet jobs is a PR campaign to slam Mothers Against Drunk Driving on behalf of the alcohol industry and another literally toxic campaign for the tuna industry encouraging pregnant women to eat tuna-never mind the mercury.
Today, the workers' rights organization American Rights at Work launched a great new Web-based resource tool that counters the anti-worker lies and twisted information. The Anti-Union Network offers profiles of anti-union organizations with details on their lobbying, litigation and media outreach, as well as their connections to each other.
The site launched with a feature of Berman's operations and highlights a diagram of Berman's extensive money trail.
In addition to being a great resource tool that includes background on union-busting and union-buster techniques, Anti-Union Network offers an up-to-date news feed and an e-mail sign-up.
Visit the Anti-Union Network directly at: http://www.antiunionnetwork.org/.
Beware, though. The site isn't for the faint-hearted: It includes mugs of Tom DeLay, Grover Norquist, Jesse Helms and others who spend their time slamming the interests of America's workers. ************** http://www.americanrightsatwork.org/antiunionnetwork/
The Anti-Union Network
57 million men and women would like to have a union in their workplace for a chance to secure fair wages, affordable health care, improved working conditions, and better rights on the job. So why don't these workers have the basic protections of a union?
It's time the truth got out. Anti-union organizations and for-profit 'unionbusting' consultants have greatly contributed to workers experiencing enormous obstacles when trying to form unions. The rise of these groups over the last few decades, their multi-million dollar budgets, and their escalating attacks are no coincidence: it's the result of a decades-long plan from right-wing ideologues bent on dismantling labor organizations responsible for advancing the social and economic interests of America's workers.
No doubt you've heard about the over-the-top anti-union ads produced by the Center for Union Facts. The ads are the most recent, highly-visible example of the anti-union network at work. And while there's a growing understanding about the extensive right-wing infrastructure - responsible for dramatically shifting public policy and altering our nation's political landscape - a significant part of this movement has received much less attention. The anti-union network is well-financed, well-established, and well-coordinated-and yet virtually unknown. Look behind the scenes as we expose the funding, the origins, the tactics, the motives, and the players involved in undermining workers and their unions. Profiles of the Anti-Union Network
Learn more about the range of organizations comprising the anti-union network. We'll continue to post profiles of players and groups in the future. Stay tuned for more.
Center for Union Facts-notorious industry lobbyist and PR flak Richard Berman is now attacking unions through his latest front group, in the same way he's fought against drunk driving laws, health regulations, consumer protections, and minimum wage increases for years. Read more.
National Right to Work Foundation and Committee-is the country's oldest organization dedicated solely to destroying unions. Read more.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce-the nation's most powerful business lobbying organization, has been campaigning against unions, fair labor practices, and legal protections for America's workers for nearly a century. Read more.
Public Service Research Foundation and Council-these small, established groups supply their more prominent anti-union colleagues with research, polling, and propaganda to fight against the right of teachers and other public employees to have unions. Read more.
For-Profit Unionbusters-these professional consultants or lawyers profit off their ability to manipulate labor law, advising employers on how to thwart union organizing drives or how to get rid of workers' unions. Read more. Highlights
Don't Trust the 'Facts' at the Center for Union Facts Richard Berman often disputes solid science, grossly exaggerates facts, and offers dubious or erroneous statistics to further the agenda of his industrial clients, whether by claiming there isn't much evidence that secondhand smoke causes cancer or by disputing the existence of a public health crisis linked to obesity. So it's downright predictable that the 'union facts' presented on the Center's website range from misleading to categorically false. Take a look at what we found...
Why is the Department of Labor working with the Center for Union Facts? In spite of its duty to protect workers, the Bush Department of Labor appears to be a close supporter of the Center for Union Facts and Richard Berman, raising questions about possible impropriety by agency officials. Read more...
© 2006 American Rights at Work