Labor

Outsourcing Firms Bring Lobbying Business to the U.S.

by Diane Farsetta — August 29, 2007 - 3:06pm

"As the 2008 U.S. election starts to sizzle, the Indian outsourcing firms have returned to win Washington over as veritable insiders, slicker and better connected than ever," reports Anand Giridharadas.

Main Source: 
International Herald Tribune, August 15, 2007

University of California Praises Hill & Knowlton

by Bob Burton — August 28, 2007 - 2:59pm

The University of California (UC) has dismissed objections by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union to UC management's hiring of Hill & Knowlton to spin its labor record. UC's Executive Director of Systemwide Labor Relations, Howard J.

Main Source: 
University of California letter (PDF), August 20, 2007

Providing Information May Be Hazardous to Your Job

by Diane Farsetta — August 23, 2007 - 10:03am

Is there an attempt "to flush out would-be whistle-blowers" at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, which "focuses on how pollution and other toxins in the environment contribute to disease"?

Main Source: 
Associated Press, August 20, 2007

Hill & Knowlton's 50 Year Fudge

by Bob Burton — August 20, 2007 - 9:25pm
  • Topics: Corporations, Health, Labor, Public Relations, Tobacco

    • Some PR executives take citizens for complete idiots.

    Almost three weeks ago a local branch of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union (AFSCME) called on the University of California to dump the giant PR firm Hill & Knowlton (H&K). In a letter to the university, AFSCME and other groups pointed to H&K's work for the tobacco industry, its attack on research pointing to the impact of exposure to lead on children, and its work for "some of the worst human rights abusing states in the world." In a statement emailed to the trade publication PR Week, H&K's Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Thorne claimed that the union's criticism "is directed to work done more than 50 years ago. While we disagree that H&K ever was engaged in any improper conduct, our current firm policy is that we will not provide services in any way related to tobacco, anywhere in the world."

    University Defends Using Hill & Knowlton

    by Bob Burton — August 9, 2007 - 4:06am

    The human rights group Friends of Maldives protests H&K

    A local branch of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) representing University of California (UC) employees is protesting against UC management's hiring Hill & Knowlton to spin its labor reco

    Main Source: 
    PR Week, August 7, 2007

    Clinton Campaign Dogged by PR Misdeeds

    by Diane Farsetta — August 7, 2007 - 1:07pm

    The PR firm Burson-Marsteller's anti-union consulting continues to haunt Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. That's because Mark Penn, a top campaign aide, also heads Burson-Marsteller (B-M).

    Main Source: 
    Los Angeles Times, August 7, 2007

    Starbucks' CSR Not Worth a Hill of Beans

    by Diane Farsetta — August 6, 2007 - 2:14pm

    On August 6, "when opening statements are set to begin in the trial over Starbucks' anti-union operation, in some ways corporate social responsibility itself will be on trial," writes Daniel Gross.

    Main Source: 
    CounterPunch, August 4 / 5, 2007

    WGA Report Supports CMD's 'Stop Fake News' Campaign

    by John Stauber — July 31, 2007 - 2:21pm

    More bad and disturbing news about the decline and corruption of TV journalism, a term that seems almost an oxymoron.

    Main Source: 
    Writers Guild of America East, July 25, 2007

    Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton and Big Tobacco

    by Bob Burton — July 3, 2007 - 12:05am
  • Topics: Labor, Lobbying, Politics, Public Relations, Tobacco

    • Mark Penn, CEO of the global PR firm Burson-Marsteller (B-M) and president of the polling firm Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates (PSB), feels misunderstood.

    Penn was recently in the news when several union officials expressed concern that Democratic Presidential aspirant Hillary Clinton had hired him as a "key strategic adviser," even though B-M has a specialist unit that advises clients on defeating union campaigns. Not surprisingly, Clinton's campaign shrugged off the criticism, insisting that he is a "vital member of our team." In an email to Atlantic Online, Penn wrote that that he had "never personally done such [anti-labor] work" and insisted that he has "strong personal sympathies with the labor movement." (Why someone who proclaims their pro-labor sympathies would even head up a PR firm that runs an anti-labor unit went unexplained.) Even if one accepts Penn's explanation at face value, it left me wondering who he had worked for.

    A little digging reveals that, for well over two decades, both Penn and his opinion polling company have advised the tobacco industry on how to counter the campaigns of the tobacco control movement. Based on internal tobacco industry documents, it is clear that Penn and his colleagues have little personal sympathy for those promoting policies that put public health ahead of the interests of the tobacco industry.

    Guest Blog: The AFL-CIO's Tula Connell on the Employee Free Choice Act

    by Conor Kenny — June 25, 2007 - 7:21pm
  • Topics: U.S. Congress, Labor

    • Managing Editor's note: This is a guest blog by User:Tula Connell, the managing editor at the AFL-CIO. It does not necessarily represent the views of the Center for Media and Democracy or the Sunlight Foundation. We welcome all informative, quality submissions related to Congress and Congresspedia articles, regardless of the point of view. If you'd like to submit a post for publication on the front page, see the guest blog info page.

    The Senate will hold a cloture vote Tuesday on Employee Free Choice Act (S.1041). The bill passed the House by 241-185 in March and would level the playing field for workers seeking to form unions.

    Current labor laws make it extremely difficult for America's workers to form unions without harassment and intimidation from their employers. Many employers want it both ways—workers who produce a lot but who are not paid enough for what they do. The union difference makes a big difference: When comparing wages alone, union workers on average make 30 percent more - that's a median weekly wage of $833 for a union worker compared with $642 for a full-time nonunion worker in 2006. (The full picture of the union difference is here.)

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