CENTER FOR UNION FACTS

The Center for Union Facts (CUF) exists to harass, attack, and undermine labor unions and worker rights. CUF works hand-in-hand with business interests opposed to unionization of their employees. CUF performs opposition research on unions, runs over-the-top ad campaigns comparing union leaders to dictators and tyrants, and promotes legislation that would undermine collective bargaining. CUF was a major player in opposing the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). Founded in 2006, CUF aims to influence public opinion against labor unions by running provocative paid media campaigns critical of organized labor and working against legislation making it easier to form unions. CUF describes its mission as research and education regarding labor unions and their activities.1 Specifically, CUF aims to uncover, highlight, and promote negative information about unions. Richard Berman serves as president and executive director of CUF.2 When the group launched, Berman told the New York Times, Obviously Im putting out information thats not very flattering Everybody knows what unions are good at, but not what theyre bad at.3 According to the Los Angeles Times, Berman started the group with $2.5 million from companies, trade organizations and individuals,4 though he told the New York Times that he hoped to spend more than $5 million a year on the campaign.5 In 2012, CUF paid Berman and Company, Inc. (BCI) $835,940, an amount equal to 27 percent of CUFs expenses that year.6 Berman said CUF was founded to oppose EFCA. In the application for tax-exempt status CUF filed with the IRS in 2006, Berman and his lawyers answered yes when asked whether CUF would attempt to influence legislation.7 In the section where they had to explain how they would attempt to influence legislation, they claimed they had no current plans to do so.8 Berman later told the Wall Street Journal, however, that one of the main reasons the organization was founded was to fight against EFCA, which was first introduced in Congress in 2003 and was expected to be revived if the Democrats took power in the 2006 election.9 Companies battling unions hire Berman and then CUF attacks the unions. In 2007, while Smithfield Foods was trying to fight a union-organizing effort at the worlds largest pork

Center for Union Facts, IRS Form 990, Initial Return 2008, filed November 12, 2009. Center for Union Facts, IRS Form 990, Initial Return 2012, filed November 7, 2013. 3 Steven Greenhouse, Group Starts Anti-Union Campaign, New York Times, February 14, 2006. 4 Bloomberg News, Anti-Union Groups Ads Attack Organized Labor, Los Angeles Times, February 14, 2006. 5 Greenhouse, New York Times, Feb. 14, 2006. 6 Center for Union Facts, IRS Form 990, Initial Return 2012, filed November 7, 2013. 7 Letter from IRS Director of Exempt Organizations Rulings and Agreements Lois G. Lerner to the Center for Union Facts, October 15, 2006, available at http://www.bermanexposed.org/files/cuf_1023.PDF?phpMyAdmin=5adf472113c89c5b3fbfa290dbe803a7&phpMy Admin=e00846c9856b61d2d33049b0d695795f 8 Id. 9 Kris Maher, Signs of a Possible Power Shift in Congress Have Unions Going All Out To Reach Voters, Wall Street Journal, August 28, 2006; American Rights At Work, The Facts Behind The Employee Free Choice Act, May 20, 2009.
2 1

processing plant, the company hired Berman as a public relations consultant.10 The subject lines of e-mails between Berman and Smithfield executives, which were briefly made public as part of a lawsuit, revealed Berman was helping Smithfield devise a nuclear strike and an offense game plan. In mid-July 2007, CUF was running online and television ads attacking the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), the union tangling with Smithfield. CUF also launched a website called UFCWexposed.com, which now simply redirects to CUFs Union Facts website. CUF is allied with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Berman solicited support from their local chapters. When CUF first launched, AFL-CIO officials said they had been told state-level chambers of commerce had pledged several million dollars at a conference to back the new organization.11 Berman denied that he asked for or received donations from state-level chambers of commerce at the conference. He did acknowledge, however, asking chamber officials to encourage businesses to contribute to his efforts.12 Randel Johnson, the U.S. Chamber of Commerces vice president for labor, immigration, and employee benefits, told the New York Times he was an adviser to CUF. We think the Center on Union Facts is useful for workers to have access to more information on unions, Johnson said.13 Early in his career, Berman worked as a labor lawyer for the Chamber, where he planned union avoidance strategies.14 Berman and CUF claim they arent against unions, but Berman tells businesses they need to dissuade employees from joining them. On its UnionFacts website, CUF says it is not against unions, just union officials abuse of power.15 We support employees who elect to join a union, as well as the right of employees to remain non-union without intimidation, the website says.16 In addition, Berman told the Associated Press in 2006 that hes not really against unions.17 At the 2009 Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators conference, however, Berman told attendees, You need to talk with employees during training about not joining unions.18 Additionally, on the website for BCIs Strategic Legislative Alliance, it says BCI will consult with you to keep your operations union-free.19 Bermans contempt for unions is clear. At the 2007 Conservative Leadership Conference, Berman said, Whos afraid of the big, bad union? I think everybody should be afraid of them.20 In 2012, Berman gloated to the Washington Times about the ire he draws from unions. I take that as a compliment that theyre so upset, said

10

Mark Drajem and Brian Wingfield, Union Busting by Profiting From Non-Profit May Breach IRS, Bloomberg, November 2, 2012. 11 Greenhouse, New York Times, Feb. 14, 2006. 12 Id. 13 Id. 14 David Whitford, Labors Lost Chance, Fortune Magazine, September 28, 1998; http://www.bermanco.com/rickberman/ 15 http://www.unionfacts.com/article/about-us/. 16 Id. 17 David Eggert, Group Runs Anti-Union Advertising Campaign in Michigan, Associated Press, August 23, 2006. 18 Robin Lee Allen, Panelists Guide Operators Through Slate of Legislative Landmines, Nations Restaurant News, October 26, 2009. 19 http://web.archive.org/web/20110625111747/http://bermanstrategy.org/. 20 J. Patrick Coolican and Michael Mishak, Teachers: Watch Out, Berman is Coming!, Las Vegas Sun, November 3, 2007.

Berman. Consider the source. If the unions call you Dr. Evil youre probably doing something right.21 Berman views himself as a participant in a long-term war with unions. In a 2005 Nations Restaurant News column, which pre-dated the founding of CUF, Berman wrote about his first full-time job as a labor lawyer for Bethlehem Steel, where he flew around the country battling local unions.22 Both sides realized that each battle represented just one encounter in a much larger, long-term war, Berman wrote. We cant win this fight in the conventional sense, Berman argued, suggesting instead that if businesses wage a relentless education campaign and dedicate serious resources to public outreach, we can get better outcomes than you might expect. CUF is part of Bermans relentless campaign against unions on behalf of industry. Claiming unions engage in corporate campaigns to attack business reputations, Berman declared in an April 2006 column for Nations Restaurant News, the Center for Union Facts is creating a corporate campaign against union leaders.23 In the same way they attack a businesss reputation from multiple angles in an effort to decrease the publics good will, we will run a countercampaign to educate the public about unions hypocrisy, unfairness and illegalities, said Berman. CUF ran an ad campaign that compared being in a union to living in a North Korea. In January 2012, CUF paid for a full-page anti-union ad in the New York Times featuring a picture of North Korea supreme leader Kim Jong-Il.24 In North Korea, people dont get real change, read the ad. American union members dont either. Berman explained the ad campaign on Fox News, saying, its designed to tell people that, if you live if North Korea, you cant change the system that you are living under, and if you are in a workplace, you cant change that system either.25 Continuing the tyranny comparison, Berman said, you could organize a coup at the Kremlin easier than you could organizing getting rid of the union. The 2012 ad wasnt the first time CUF compared unions to dictatorships. In 2006, CUF ran an ad comparing UNITE HERE president Bruce Raynor to Kim Jong-Il and Cubas Fidel Castro.26 CUF compared teachers unions to segregationist George Wallace. In September 2012, while Chicago teachers were out on strike, CUF attempted to run an ad in the Chicago Tribune comparing the striking teachers to former Alabama Gov. George Wallace.27 The advertisement featured a famous photo of Wallace standing in the doorway of the University of Alabama as he refused to allow black students to enter the school.28 Accompanying the photo, CUF declared,

21 22

Tim Devaney, Berman Turns His Eye to Battling Big Labor, Washington Times, February 14, 2012. Richard Berman, Industry Should Not Retreat in the War with Unions Over A Minimum Wage Increase, Nations Restaurant News, November 28, 2005. 23 Richard Berman, Unions Should Get Vote of No Confidence for Coercive Tactics That Mar Democratic Ideal, Nations Restaurant News, April 24, 2006. 24 Josh Eidelson, Center for Union Facts Steps Up $10 Million Ad Campaign Backing Broad Anti-Union Bill, In These Times, January 24, 2012; Employee Rights Act advertisement, available at http://employeerightsact.com/ads/. 25 Transcript, Your World with Neil Cavuto, Berman and Company Founder Interview, January 5, 2012. 26 Stephen Greenhouse, Employers Sharply Criticize Shift in Unionizing Method to Cards from Elections, New York Times, March 11, 2006. 27 Daniel Halper, Chicago Tribune Refuses to Print Anti-Teachers Union Ad, The Weekly Standard, September 13, 2012. 28 Id.

Someone new is blocking the schoolhouse door. Teacher Unions.29 The Tribune refused to run the ad, however, which led Berman to complain to the Weekly Standard that his free speech rights were being violated.30 According to the Standard, the Tribune would not run the ad because of its racial undertones.31 Berman denied that comparing Chicago school teachers to one of the most notorious racists in American history had racial undertones.32 CUF plans to spend $10 million promoting legislation to undermine unions. In late 2011, CUF announced plans to spend $10 million promoting the Employee Rights Act, anti-union legislation sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and then-Rep. Tim Scott (R-SC).33 The ad comparing labor unions to North Korea was part of this campaign.34 To push the legislation, CUF purchased advertising during high-profile events, including the Super Bowl35 and a presidential debate.36 CUF also launched a website dedicated to the legislation.37 Another one of Bermans groups, the Enterprise Freedom Action Committee (EFAC), which started as a CUF spin-off,38 also hosts a website dedicated to the Employee Rights Act.39 The website features content provided by both CUF and EFAC. An independent fact-checker called a CUF-produced statistic about union elections a nonsense fact. In their North Korea-themed newspaper ad and a television ad that ran during the 2012 Super Bowl, CUF asserted that only 10 percent of union members voted to establish the union to which they belong.40 When Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler looked into the statistic, which was originally produced by then-Berman employee J. Justin Wilson, he concluded it was a nonsense fact deserving of three Pinocchios.41 The more we dug into the NLRB reports, the more dubious this statistic became, Kessler wrote. On its face, it may be technically correct, though involves calculations from two different data sets, which usually leads to trouble. The number of people who cast an original vote for unionization says little about current support for the union.42 Former Obama administration economist Jared Bernstein said: It is a bit like saying Virginia isnt a state because none of its current residents voted for statehood.43 CUF targets teachers unions as part of its bigger battle against the labor movement. At a conference in 2007, Berman announced he was planning a multi-market media campaign attacking teachers unions as impediments to education reform, according to the Las Vegas

29 30

Id. Id. 31 Halper, Weekly Standard, Sept. 13, 2012. 32 Id. 33 Dave Jamieson, Rick Bermans Anti-Labor Front Group to Launch $10 Million Ad Campaign, Huffington Post, December 14, 2011. 34 Andrew Joseph, $10 Million Campaign to Support Employee Rights Act, National Journal, January 15, 2012. 35 Tim Devaney, Anti-Union Groups Ad Scores in Super Bowl, Washington Times, February 6, 2012. 36 Jennifer White, Union Foes to Run $120,000 Ad Before Presidential Debate, Daily Caller, October 16, 2012. 37 http://www.employeerightsact.com/. 38 Enterprise Freedom Action Committee, IRS Form 1023, filed December 12, 2007. 39 http://www.employeerightsact.com/. 40 Glenn Kessler, A Nonsense Fact in a Super Bowl Ad, Washington Post, February 7, 2012. 41 Id. 42 Id. 43 Id.

Sun.44 In his speech, Berman acknowledged his attack on teachers unions is really a small front in a much bigger battle over the future of the labor movement and its role in American politics, the Sun wrote. Berman also bragged that he was able to drive down the public approval ratings of the teachers union in Newark, N.J. by 14 points after he tried his tactics on a small scale. In 2008, CUF put out a call for nominees for the 10 worst unionized teachers in America, saying they would pay the winners $10,000 each to quit teaching forever.45 CUF set up the website TeachersUnionsExposed.com and has run ads attacking teachers unions all over the country. CUFs campaign against the D.C. teachers union was denounced by Michelle Rhee. In 2010, CUF paid for ads attacking the teachers union in Washington, D.C.46 After CUF attempted to fundraise for the campaign using the name of then-D.C. Chancellor Michelle Rhee in solicitations, the general counsel for D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) wrote to Berman, asking him to cease and desist using Rhees name.47 Chancellor Rhee has not authorized and in fact strongly opposes your activities, wrote DCPS general counsel James Sandman.48 She is informing donors and grantors that what you are doing will not help a single student in the District of Columbia Public Schools, that she does not support your efforts. In the letter, Sandman characterized CUFs campaign as a virulent anti-teachers union media attack.49 BCI employee Sarah Longwell acknowledged to the Washington Post that some of the groups fundraising efforts did mention Rhee, though she suggested Rhee distanced herself from their campaign because shes got a political battle on her hands where she has to deal with the union day in and day out.50 CUF spent heavily on anti-union TV ads implicitly opposing the recall of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. In 2012, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker faced a recall election largely driven by the aggressive, anti-labor changes Gov. Walker forced through after taking office in 2011. Salon reported in March 2012 that CUF was spending just over a million dollars on the airwaves in Wisconsin.51 The ads, which were the same ones that CUF had run around the country, did not mention Wisconsin or Gov. Walker specifically, but the anti-labor message broadly supported Gov. Walkers campaign to stay in office. CUF ultimately spent $1 million in Wisconsin during the recall campaign.52 After Walker successfully defeated the recall efforts, CUF paid for ads attacking union leaders for spending money on the recall.53 Further antagonizing unions,

44 45

Coolican and Mishak, Las Vegas Sun, Nov. 3, 2007. Kathryn Masterson, Worst Teachers Promised $100,000 by Lobbyist, Chicago Tribune, March 31, 2008. 46 Mike DeBonis, With TV and Print Ads, Group Takes Aim at WTU, Washington Post, August 30, 2010. 47 Mike DeBonis, National Teachers Union Debuts Pro-Gray Radio Ads, as Rhee Denounces Anti-Union Campaign, Washington Post, August 31, 2010. 48 Id. 49 Id. 50 Id. 51 Josh Eidelson, Union-buster joins Wisconsin recall fight, Salon, March 7, 2012. 52 Phil Hirschkorn and Nancy Cordes, A Record Amount of Money Spent on Wisconsin Recall, CBS News, June 6, 2012. 53 Andrew Joseph, Todays Influence Ads: Group Hits Unions Over Wisconsin Recall, National Journal, June 7, 2012.

Berman also posted internal post-recall messaging documents from the Wisconsin Education Association Council on their LaborPains blog and RedState.54 CUF maintains the following websites: UnionFacts.com, LaborPains.org, EmployeeRightsAct.com, TeachersUnionsExposed.com, ProtectingBadTeachers.com, WorkerCenters.com, AFTFacts.com, UniteHereExposed.org, SEIUExposed.org, and StepUpWyoming.com. In the past CUF ran UFWCExposed.com, which now redirects to UnionFacts.com.

54

Rick Berman, Center for Union Facts Obtains Internal Wisconsin Education Association Council Messaging Document, Red State, June 14, 2012; Labor Pains, Exclusive: Center for Union Facts Obtains Internal Wisconsin Education Association Council Messaging Document, June 13, 2012.