Anti-Union Forces on the Attack in NY's North Country!

The Center for Union Facts has begun airing ridiculous ads attacking unions on WPTZ. The ad makes outrageous claims against all unions, accusing them of racial discrimination and fraud. With a little research I found that this group is one of many front organizations of right-wing lobbyist Rick Berman.

Berman has ties to numerous repugnant causes including attacking MADD and the Americans with Disabilities Act, encouraging pregnant woman to eat tuna that may contain mercury, and ethics violations involving former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich's GOPAC.

I called the Center for Union Facts and a representative refused to tell me who was supporting the Center. Looking around online I found other Berman projects have been funded by various corporate groups including Phillip Morris as part of a pro-tobacco campaign, and the National Restaurant Association as part of a pro-mercury poisoning campaign.

The representative told me they had no specific reason for advertising in our area and it was simply part of an overall media campaign. One possible reason for airing the ad in our area could be that the Center for Union Facts has been revealed to be linked to Wal-Mart, an outspoken foe of unions, but Wal-Mart deny that they provide funding to the Center.

The real facts about unions are that without them many of the rights workers enjoy today wouldn't exist. As the unions of America have been declining in membership and power the rights of workers in the United States have also been on the decline. The pro-big buisness conservative philosophy has infiltrated the power structure of this nation. The progressive gains of the early 1900's have been systematically stripped away by people that work for the power elites while claiming to be for the common folk.

The Center for Union Facts and Rick Berman's other projects serve to remind us that there are powerful forces in this nation that are only concerned about profit for the modern robber barons of America. We must stand together to fight for the rights of regular Americans, join or form unions if you can, and speak out against the wrongs of the corporate culture of corruption that has infected our government and media.