Labor Union Blog

The Groucho mask is the symbol for the Falsie’s contest for firms that pollute our information environment with falsehoods.

Corporate lobbyist Richard Berman really should get the recognition he deserves for his PR campaigns that have slammed Mothers Against Drunk Driving on behalf of the alcohol industry and encouraged pregnant women to eat potentially mercury-laden tuna at the behest of the seafood industry.

Now, he can—with your help.

Each year, the Center for Media and Democracy/PR Watch sponsors the “Falsies Awards” contest to shine an unflattering light on those responsible for polluting our information environment—you know, those high-paid corporate mouthpieces who have truth-telling issues. Berman is one of several nominees for a Falsie.

Berman most recently has spent his time—and millions in corporate cash—on a deceptive ad campaign to defeat the Employee Free Choice Act. As our friends at PR Watch describe his anti-worker, anti-union media campaign:

Corporate lobbyist Rick Berman was busy throughout 2008, though his sustained and frequent use of front groups over the years may earn him a Lifetime Achievement Falsie. As the U.S. elections approached, Berman’s Center for Union Facts lobbied against labor rights legislation, claiming it would allow “union bosses” to “use coercion.”