Mar 27, 2008 3:45 PM
Newspaper ads and television commercials headlined “The Biggest Bully in Schools? Teacher Unions” began appearing March 11 in major news outlets across the country, the same day the UFT was lobbying Albany legislators to restore funding aid to schools. The man behind those attacks is big-bucks lobbyist Rick Berman, creator of the misnamed Center for Union Facts.
AFT President Ed McElroy calls Berman “an ethically challenged attack dog. McElroy points out that Berman has done PR for pesticide, alcohol and tobacco companies. He has lobbied against the Americans with Disabilities Act, against checkpoints to catch drunk drivers, against increasing the minimum wage and against Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
“Now he is coming after teachers at a time when most Americans support education and want to make improving education a top national priority,” says McElroy. “Teachers and the public deserve to know which businesses are bankrolling Berman’s despicable tactics, but he is too much of a coward to reveal the source of his funding.”
UFT President Randi Weingarten called the ad campaign "an attack on teachers by a rich lobbyist who has a history of attacking the underdog."
Nationwide, thousands of AFT members as well as members of the public wrote to the media outlets running the ads — including The New York Times. While the letters were all individual, one common theme emerged: When you attack teacher unions, you attack the dedicated teachers who are devoting their careers to helping children succeed.
AFT LeaderNet, March 10, 12