Employment Policies Inst epi

==BERMAN

srcwatch lists in nat'l rtw comm

original legit?nope, bermanhttps://www.epionline.org/aboutepi/
<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 12px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Georgia, " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb">Founded in 1991, the Employment Policies Institute is a non-profit research organization dedicated to studying public policy issues surrounding employment growth. In particular, EPI focuses on issues that affect entry-level employment.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 12px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Georgia, " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb">Among other issues, EPI research has quantified the impact of new labor costs on job creation, explored the connection between entry-level employment and welfare reform, and analyzed the demographic distribution of mandated benefits. EPI sponsors nonpartisan research which is conducted by independent economists at major universities around the country.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 12px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Georgia, " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><a title="EPI Projects" href="https://www.epionline.org/epi-projects/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; color: rgb(145, 24, 30);">See other EPI projects</a><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: futura-pt, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.1; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); margin-top: 40px; margin-bottom: 30px; font-size: 16.8px; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 4px; padding-bottom: 20px; border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(145, 144, 140); background-color: rgb(255, 254, 246);">MEDIA INQUIRIES</h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 12px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Georgia, " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb">Contact our media department at 202-463-7650, ext. 118<h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: futura-pt, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.1; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); margin-top: 40px; margin-bottom: 30px; font-size: 16.8px; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 4px; padding-bottom: 20px; border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(145, 144, 140); background-color: rgb(255, 254, 246);">CONTACT INFORMATION</h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 12px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Georgia, " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" serif="serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb">Employment Policies Institute 1090 Vermont Ave. NW, Suite 800 Washington, D.C. 20005 Tel: 202-463-7650<div><a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2017/05/13240/bradley-foundation-bankrolls-front-groups-richard-berman">http://www.prwatch.org/news/2017/05/13240/bradley-foundation-bankrolls-front-groups-richard-berman</a>
<div>Documents examined by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) pull back the curtain on the highly politicized funding of the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation and its relationship with Richard Berman, the public relations spin doctor dubbed a "<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/meet-rick-berman-aka-dr-evil/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">hired gun</a>" for corporate America by 60 Minutes.Bradley is bankrolling multiple Berman front groups along with groups across the nation that are working to "defund Big Labor" and to destroy unions, the most significant advocate for higher wages and better working conditions in America. Berman was caught on tape telling prospective funders: "I get up every morning and I try and figure out how to screw with the labor unions" and "marginalize the people on the other side," as <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2014/10/12646/rick-berman-exposed-new-audio-detailing-tactics-against-environment" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">CMD helped reveal</a> in 2014.The highly political nature of Bradley's efforts is underscored by Bradley grantees who boast in major newspapers and in Bradley-funded publications like the <a href="http://dailysignal.com/2017/02/19/decline-of-unions-under-right-to-work-laws-levels-playing-field-for-trump" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Daily Signal</a> that the evisceration of public and private sector unions in states like Wisconsin and Michigan was successful in turning blue states red in the last presidential election cycle. Bradley even has a <a href="https://vimeo.com/187345989" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">promotional video</a> "Blue Lakes Red States," boasting of the success of its numerous grantees.Berman has mastered the dark art of dissemination disinformation though front groups, websites, TV and print ads and paid social media campaigns. While most of Berman's front groups are no more than a website, a few of them have been incorporated as non-profit "charitable" organizations. They may even have an employee attached to them and a specific focus, but as the New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/10/us/politics/fight-over-minimum-wage-illustrates-web-of-industry-ties.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">detailed</a> in 2016, employees are generally housed at the PR firm Berman and Co. and report to the boss, Rick Berman.These "charities" serve the function of allowing groups like Bradley to send tax-exempt funds, which are then funneled into Berman's wholly-owned for-profit entity, Berman and Co., under the rubric of "management fees." This scheme has prompted Charity Navigator, an independent authority on charitable giving, to issue donor warnings on Berman front groups. It has also prompted serious <a href="http://www.citizensforethics.org/press-release/crew-files-complaint-against-center-for-consumer-freedom-alleging-violation/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">complaints against</a> Berman and Co. for abusing the tax code and engaging in activities for private benefit.The Bradley Files suggest that the foundation is quite comfortable with the Berman shell game. Bradley board documents characterize Berman's confusing jumble of front groups and websites as a "collaborative cluster of nonprofit groups" and reveal for the first time that Bradley itself created a Berman project called the "Interstate Policy Alliance" within Berman's Employment Policies Institute.Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), an ethics watchdog group, filed an IRS complaint against Berman some years ago and helps track the flack's activities."When a company or a foundation gives money to Richard Berman or one of the groups set up and run by his consulting firm, they're investing in his way of doing business, which includes exploiting 'fear and anger' to 'shoot the messenger,' usually in defense of issues his clients don't want to be publicly identified with," said Matt Corley, CREW Research Director.One example is Berman's "BigGreenRadicals.com" website, an attack on four environmental organizations, the National Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Greenpeace and Food and Water Watch. The website says it is a project of the "Environmental Policy Alliance" and does not disclose Berman's involvement. The Bradley files reveal for the first time that the foundation gave $150,000 to a Berman front group to fund this website under the misnomer "public education" (Center for Consumer Freedom, Grant Proposal Record, 11/12/2013).In recent years, the site has been trashing environmental activists in Colorado. There has been a multi-year throw down between anti-fracking community groups battling it out against the oil and gas industry, and the national environmental groups have been lending a hand."Richard Berman is a go-to hire for corporate bullies. If the Bradley Foundation is paying groups to focus more on political bullying, it makes sense they would support Berman's attacks on environmental advocates," said Connor Gibson of Greenpeace's investigations team.More recently, Bradley has funded another Berman front group to "expose Big Labor's strategies and tactics, including in the policymaking arena." Materials included in the Bradley files as examples of Berman's work are a series of print ads accusing teachers of treating kids like garbage and ads that liken teachers' unions to roach traps (Center for Union Facts, Grant Proposal Record, 1/10/2015).Bradley even has an enemies list.In board meetings and committee meetings in 2014, Bradley Foundation staff distributed and discussed a chart of "Organizations that Attack Conservatives." The chart lists 17 groups with information about their size, funders, and leadership. The groups are a mixture of good government groups, media groups, public relations firms, and funding organizations including, in alphabetical order:Alliance for Justice; American Bridge, BerlinRosen; Center for American Progress/Think Progress Blog; Center for Media and Democracy; Change.org; Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington (CREW); Color of Change; Common Cause; Democracy Alliance; Fenton Communications; FitzGibbon Media; Media Matters for America; Mother Jones, One Wisconsin Now; Open Society Institute; and Progress Now.A note with the chart says Bradley wanted to "survey the landscape of such groups for a more informed perspective about that which could perhaps be done to mitigate the damage they could do." The note says the information about the groups came from two Berman websites "Activistfacts.com and CREWexposed.com, projects of the Bradley-supported Center for Consumer Freedom" (Meeting of the Implementation and Impact Committee, October 14, 2014).Through Berman, the Bradley Foundation can engage in unseemly opposition research and disinformation campaigns, while still keeping the appearance of a staid, philanthropic institution.According to the Bradley Files, Bradley has given Berman groups at least $6.5 million. Bradley gave Berman's "Employment Policies Institute," an organization that spreads misinformation about the effects of minimum wage increases and other workplace reforms, a total of $3,650,000 between 2009-2015; Berman's "Center for Consumer Freedom," a front group created to undermine public support for food-safety and animal welfare groups, $625,000 between 2009-2013; Berman's "Center for Union Facts," created to attack and undermine unions and collective bargaining, $2,240,000 between 2006-2015.In addition, Bradley funds the "Capital Research Center" to work with Berman on projects. The Center is not part of the Berman operation, but is run by a former Berman employee, Scott Walter. It received $2.5 million from Bradley between 1998-2015.But for all intents and purposes, the Bradley foundation is underwriting the activities of three people: Berman and Co. President Richard Berman, Vice President Sarah Longwell (who is often listed as the contact for Center for Consumer Freedom and many other Berman groups), and Vice President Michael Saltsman (who is also listed as the head of the Employment Policy Institute, which is located within Berman's offices).Bradley bankrolls Berman for at least three sets of activities:<ul style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li><h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">Disseminating studies via the Interstate Policy Alliance</h3></li><li><h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">Recommending state infrastructure investments</h3></li><li><h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">Coaching on "crisis communication" and opposition research</h3></li></ul><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Dissemination of Studies</h2>Berman's Employment Policies Institute (EPI) was named to confuse the public with an actual think tank, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), which employs a host of PhD-level economists and other support staff. Berman's EPI has no economists on staff, but does employ "Research Director" Michael Saltsman, who has no advanced degree. MSNBC's Chris Hayes pinned Saltsman down on that point in a <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/2013/11/chris-hayes-clashes-with-conservative-think-tank-member-how-many-economists-do-you-have-on-staff/" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;">remarkable interview</a>.In 2013, Bradley earmarked $300,000 for a new Berman project within EPI called the Interstate Policy Alliance (IPA). In 2014, the grant for the same work doubled to $600,000 and included "crisis communication" for Bradley-funded groups on the receiving end of bad publicity, and in 2015, Bradley provided $400,000. <a href="http://www.exposedbycmd.org/interstate-policy-alliance-members/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Click here for a full list of Berman IPA groups.</a>Bradley documents describe IPA as a "discrete channel" for "studies" that could be utilized by state-based groups "to achieve maximum credibility in local and social media outlets.""Created at Bradley's behest in 2012 and with continuing Bradley support since then, IPA is a discreet channel for the better coordination and presentation of helpful, high-quality research on existing and proposed state-level, free-market policies around the country. It provides this research, too often out of reach for many small state think tanks, and customizes it for each state to achieve maximum credibility in local- and social-media outlets. The Searle Freedom Trust has joined Bradley in support of the project" (Barder Fund, August 18, 2015).State think tanks participating in Berman's IPA, which include Wisconsin's Bradley-supported MacIver Institute, do not have to pay for the research or its packaging or dissemination. They are able to easily access data that has been uploaded to a password-protected website. As needed, Berman's IPA also helps with report writing, graphic design, news release preparation, op-ed placement and the scheduling of interviews, (EPI, Grant Proposal Record, 11/10/2015 ).In 2015, the Center for Media and Democracy and the Energy and Policy Institute <a href="http://www.energyandpolicy.org/beacon-hill-institute-flawed-epa-attack-funded-through-richard-berman-front-group/" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;">revealed</a> how IPA operated, when it reported that the Beacon Hill Institute was releasing misleading studies attacking President Obama's Clean Power Plan, an ambitious multi-year effort to cut carbon pollution and mitigate the harmful effects of climate change. The funding for the study came through the previously unknown group called the Interstate Policy Alliance.In many of its sponsored research "studies," IPA promotes fossil fuel development over renewables. This has been a long-term agenda item of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the corporate funded bill mill and many State Policy Network "think tanks" and advocacy groups funded by Bradley. In addition, the Bradley documents examined by CMD show Bradley is funding numerous climate denial groups, including Myron Ebell's Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Heartland Institute.<ul style="margin: 1.5em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px;"><li>One <a href="http://www.mdpolicy.org/docLib/20140918_EastCoastEnergyStudyFinalReport91214.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">IPA report</a>, touts the tens of billions of revenue North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia might gain from offshore oil and gas development in the Atlantic Ocean.</li><li>Another <a href="https://www.westernenergyalliance.org/sites/default/files/2013%20Energy%20Dev%20Impact.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">report</a> argues that fossil fuel development of federal lands in seven Rocky Mountain states will grow the economies at a faster pace than renewables.</li><li><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284159917_Impact_of_Federal_Transfers_on_State_and_Local_Own_Source_Spending" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Another promotes</a> the transfer of federal lands to states, claiming that revenues from taxes and fees will rapidly flow to states.</li><li>And yet another <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304581173_Costs_Benefits_of_Renewable_Energy_Portfolio_Standard" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">study</a> criticizes the Renewable Portfolio Standards in 29 states and D.C. as costly to consumers, while ignoring any benefits to jobs or the environment.</li></ul><h2 style="line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Infrastructure Investments</h2>The Bradley files reveal that the foundation has a previously undisclosed stream of funding to build right-wing infrastructure nationwide and is using a metric to assess the strength and depth of the infrastructure in individual states a phenomenon that the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has dubbed <a href="https://projects.jsonline.com/news/2017/5/5/hacked-records-show-bradley-foundation-taking-wisconsin-model-national.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">the Bradley Blueprint</a>.In 2015, Bradley asked Berman's IPA and the allied Capital Research Center (CRC) in Washington, D.C. to conduct an assessment of "second tier" states for consideration as "potential targets of opportunity" to enhance their infrastructure investments.<div class="clearfix">The Bradley files also laud Berman & Co.'s Vice President Saltsman, who is described variously in Bradley documents as the "executive director" of EPI and "executive director" of IPA. "The talented and energetic Saltsman's IPA experience has exposed him to many of the strengths and weaknesses of the mid-sized state think tanks and conservative infrastructure around the country."The CRC/IPA evaluation of the quality and potential of states' existing conservative infrastructure and recommended investments in eight states: Colorado, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, Georgia, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, and California in that order. The documents note "(Given IPA's Bradley supported role in trying to help all state think tanks, they were quite keen on the report's contents being kept confidential)" (Barder Fund, Nov. 10, 2015).Bradley asked Saltsman "to discreetly consult with ALEC's Lisa Nelson, ATRF's Grover Norquist, and Ned Ryun of the also Bradley-supported American Majority" on what states should get funding (Barder Fund, 8/18/15).The advisors named Colorado a top tier priority. Not only is Colorado an important swing state, but Coloradan Terry Considine is on the Bradley Board of Directors. Considine is a failed Colorado politician, but a dedicated right-winger who has long served on the Board of Directors of Club for Growth, the national dark money group.The political nature of Bradley's investment in this swing state is made clear in a report "Colorado state-infrastructure recommendations" included in the Bradley documents. "Colorado is an important swing state with a broad base of center-right organizations and donors," writes Bradley. The report discusses "The Gang of Four"liberal funders in the state who were featured in an "attention-getting" book called "The Blueprint: How the Democrats Won Colorado (and Why Republicans Everywhere Should Care)," which details how a small group of Democratic donors helped turn the state blue. The book made a big impression on Bradley staff; a picture of the cover is included in the Bradley documents multiple times.Now Bradley wants to fund institutions in Colorado in an effort to swing the pendulum back again. Bradley recommends five specific grants, including two that illustrate the political nature of the endeavor.Bradley recommends $125,000 to American Majority for 2016. The grant asks for support for a new field office in the I-25 corridor, an executive director, field staffer and intern. "They would coordinate with Centennial [Institute] and Independence [Institute] to identify, train and nurture mentoring relationships with conservative Coloradans." American Majority is an organization that trains candidates to run for office. It claims to be nonpartisan, but was founded by Republicans to train Republicans (Barder Fund, Nov. 10, 2015).Bradley recommended $250,000 to the Independence Institute in 2016. The Independence Institute is a State Policy Network member heavily funded by Bradley for both its work on climate issues and its anti-union work. The Bradley documents say it is led by "the charmingly bombastic Jon Caldara" "who has lead the creation of one of the more-effective conservative state infrastructures." But that infrastructure has a problem. "Colorado has 3,600 local governments.""Not only does the left exercise its power and coercion through these governments, he and [the Independence Institute] believe, but it uses them as farm teams to groom people for higher office." Caldera wants to counter this problem and "build a better bench" for the right-wing by compiling a database of every appointed and elected position in Jefferson County and conducting outreach to these officials. The Institute would coordinate its activities with American Majority, the Centennial Institute and the Leadership Program of the Rockies. Staff recommended $75,000 for this later institution (Barder Fund, Nov. 10, 2015).These two investments appear to be exactly the type of political spending that might run afoul of IRS rules for permissible non-profit activity.Other Colorado grantees included Colorado Christian University for its Centennial Institute ($75,000), Leadership Program of the Rockies ($75,000) and the Steamboat Institute ($50,000).<h2 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">"Crisis Communications" and Opposition Research</h2>Bradley has also bankrolled the Berman team for a communications program for many years."Also at Bradley's behest in 2012, CCF [Center for Consumer Freedom] created a related crisis-communications program for state infrastructures. It has been led by Berman vice president Sarah Longwell, formerly director of public affairs at the Bradly-supported Intercollegiate Studies Institute... CCF has consistently exposed the agenda of the activist groups that seek to attack personal freedom and its allies" (EPI, Grant Proposal Record, 11/10/2015).This crisis communication work as described by Bradley relates directly to the successful, grassroots campaigning against ALEC that was sparked in 2011 after CMD published more than 800 ALEC "model bills" secretly voted on by corporate lobbyists and legislators on its website <a href="http://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">ALECexposed.org in 2011</a>.To quote from the Bradley files:"In the wake of the media firestorm that engulfed the American Legislative Exchange Council last year, it was clear that a new group of influential, media-savvy activist outfits have emerged—along with a new group of targets that includes state think tanks and other entities including foundations. The Gates Foundation, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Kraft, Walmart, Johnson and Johnson, McDonalds and Wendy's are just a few of the funders that cut ties to ALEC following the media onslaught generated by activists who successfully linked it to the shooting of Trayvon Martin.""ALEC never saw it coming. Neither really did the Heartland Institute or Chick-fil-A see what was coming when they subsequently have been on the receiving end of similar onslaughts. Caught flat footed as the media charged ahead with the 'Stand Your Ground' story, ALEC had no rapid-response strategy in place to combat this runaway narrative. Berman and Co.'s advice to ALEC to be more aggressive in its response was not followed. The 'I stand with ALEC website' came much too late and brought far too little to its defense" (EPI, Grant Proposal Record, 11/11/2014).These are "case studies," writes Bradley staff, and "cautionary tales" for any conservative organization. Now Bradley wants to fund CCF for an "off the shelf public relations strategy for use by any such conservative outfit caught in the media crosshairs."Already-prepared "well sourced opposition research" is key, says the Bradley grant document:"Just as CMD was able build an online dossier on ALEC that provided activists and sympathetic journalists with a base of research, so too is CCF using its data and information to build a 'bigger and better clearinghouse of research on groups within the wider left-wing network' as part of a rapid response strategy."CCF boasts of training Bradley-supported "think tanks" across the nation that are members of the State Policy Network (SPN), such as North Carolina's Civitas Institute, Michigan's Mackinac Center, and Washington State's Freedom Foundation. CCF asks Bradley for support to expand this type of opposition research and training to the rest of the SPN network and the Interstate Policy Alliance.According to a grant proposal record, "Full Service Menu" of Berman Center for Consumer Freedom services would include, 1) support for two or three studies a year, 2) op-ed drafting and placement, 3) drafting and sending of news releases on the groups behalf, 4) compiling a media list of reporter contacts, 5) ad buying for television, radio, print and online, 6) crisis communication assistance and in-state infrastructure seminars (EPI, Grant Proposal Record, 11/11/2014).In addition, Bradley is recommending a $200,000 grant in renewed support for ALEC in 2016 as it continues to build a "comprehensive communications infrastructure" in response to citizen campaigns targeting its funders. The grant summary reads: "ALEC has been under sustained, organized attack from the Left for several years, as well-documented in Bradley Prize recipient Kimberly Strassel's new book The Intimidation Game: How the Left Silences Free Speech. Under Executive Director Lisa Nelson and at Bradley's urging, ALEC is aggressively, but thoughtfully responding." "The plan consciously mimics the Left's Citizen Engagement Laboratory (CEL)...the parent organization of Forecast the Facts and Color of Change."ALEC also redesigned and beefed up its website, deployed more social media, and partnered with CrowdSkout a data analytics company to track, view and engage supporters (ALEC, Grant Proposal Record, 8/16/2016).Bradley outlines the bigger game plan for ALEC: "The larger plan also has an important component for aggressive 'opposition research,' which has yielded many beneficial outcomes, including to Strassel for her helpful book, among others." This last comment in the Bradley documents suggests that ALEC provided Wall Street Journal editorial writer Kim Strassel with information for her book Intimidation Game. In it, Strassel portrayed the sustained citizen campaigning against ALEC as a well-funded, nefarious effort to crush the "free speech" rights of ALEC and its enormous funders, including Koch Industries, ExxonMobil, Pfizer, and ALTRIA/Phillip Morris (Strassel received a $250,000 Bradley Prize in 2014).As part of its opposition research funding, Bradley recommended $115,000 in 2016 for the Capital Research Center run by Bradley-ally Scott Walter to develop "an online encyclopedia of the left" in conjunction with Berman that mimics the Center for Media and Democracy's Sourcewatch.org wiki. CRC wants to focus on the anti-ALEC groups and the Democracy Alliance, a group of liberal funders."This will be a comprehensive, wiki-style resource that provides in-depth profiles of left-of-center individuals and organizations based on the model of the Center for Media and Democracy's website Sourcewatch.org…CRC plans to take a page out of Sourcewatch's playbook by ensuring that its new, wiki-style encyclopedia of the left is thorough, regularly updated and written in a manner that is accurate and measured in order to attract and retain a larger audience. The website will be constructed and in partnership with Berman and Company [where Walter worked briefly as director of development], and CRC is collaborating with ALEC and the Heartland Institute to make use of their data as it builds the new website's profile list," (Capital Research Center, Grant Proposal Record, 8/16/2016)."Sourcewatch is a widely used resource that significantly influences public opinion regarding the activities of center-right groups and individuals. While there are a number of conservative resources that profile organizations and individuals on the Left (such as David Horowitz's DiscoverTheNetworks.org, Heartland Institute's LeftExposed.org, Berman and Company's ActivistFacts.org and the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise's UndueInfluence.com) CDC will build upon and complement their efforts adding value through its more comprehensive coverage, superior search engine optimization, and wiki-style format," (Capital Research Center, Grant Proposal Record, 8/16/2016).Current members of the Bradley Foundation Board are Richard W. Graber (President), <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/James_Arthur_Pope" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Art Pope</a> (Chairman; Variety Wholesalers), Patrick J. English (Vice Chairman; Fiduciary Management, Inc.), Terry Considine (AIMCO), Curt S. Culver (MGIC), Robert P. George (Princeton University), <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Victor_Davis_Hanson" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Victor Davis Hanson</a> (Hoover Institution), <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Diane_Hendricks" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Diane Hendricks</a> (ABC Supply Co. and Hendricks Holding Co.), Cleta Mitchell (Foley & Lardner), and James T. Barry III (The Barry Company). Former board members include <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Michael_W.Grebe" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Michael W. Grebe</a> and George F. Will.</div><div></div></div></div>nndbbrinker is chilli's rest; died in polo accident  Colo http://www.nndb.com/company/650/000062464/frank opp, man pjt, bro of robt, CPUSA student heckman:Founded 1991 by <a href="http://www.nndb.com/people/392/000130999/">Richard B. Berman</a>, of Berman & Co., a public relations firm.Official Website:
<a href="http://www.epionline.org/">http://www.epionline.org/</a>Location:
<a href="http://www.nndb.com/geo/761/000069554/" class="proflink" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: none;">Washington, DC</a>Founding Date:
1991<table border="1" class="sortable bordered" id="sort_actors" style="border: 1px solid rgb(119, 119, 119); border-collapse: collapse;"><tbody><tr class=" even"><th style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.nndb.com/org/626/000164134/#" class="sortheader" style="color: black; display: block;">Name</a></th><th style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.nndb.com/org/626/000164134/#" class="sortheader" style="color: black; display: block;">Occupation</a></th><th style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.nndb.com/org/626/000164134/#" class="sortheader" style="color: black; display: block;">Birth</a></th><th style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.nndb.com/org/626/000164134/#" class="sortheader" style="color: black; display: block;">Death</a></th><th style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.nndb.com/org/626/000164134/#" class="sortheader" style="color: black; display: block;">Known for</a></th></tr><tr class=" odd"><td style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.nndb.com/people/392/000130999/">Richard B. Berman</a></td><td style="padding: 3px;"><center>Activist</center></td><td align="right" style="padding: 3px;"><tt>c. 1942</tt></td><td align="right" style="padding: 3px;"><tt> </tt></td><td style="padding: 3px;">Astroturf spindoctor</td></tr><tr class=" even"><td style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.nndb.com/people/153/000126772/">Norman Brinker</a></td><td style="padding: 3px;"><center>Business</center></td><td align="right" style="padding: 3px;"><tt>3-Jun-1931</tt></td><td align="right" style="padding: 3px;"><tt>9-Jun-2009</tt></td><td style="padding: 3px;">CEO of Brinker International, 1983-95</td></tr><tr class=" odd"><td style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.nndb.com/people/743/000141320/">James J. Heckman</a></td><td style="padding: 3px;"><center>Economist</center></td><td align="right" style="padding: 3px;"><tt>19-Apr-1944</tt></td><td align="right" style="padding: 3px;"><tt> </tt></td><td style="padding: 3px;">Statistical analysis of individual and household behavior</td></tr><tr class=" even"><td style="padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.nndb.com/people/625/000164133/">Ronald A. McDougall</a></td><td style="padding: 3px;"><center>Business</center></td><td align="right" style="padding: 3px;"><tt>12-Aug-1942</tt></td><td align="right" style="padding: 3px;"><tt> </tt></td><td style="padding: 3px;">Brinker International, 1983-2004</td></tr></tbody></table>==

9/15 cmd

By Jessica Mason and Kim Haddow

Richard Berman, whose PR firm and endless industry-backed front groups have led the fight against raising the minimum wage, sinks to a new low with a website that features restaurant owners ostensibly opposed to a $15 minimum wage.

The problem? Many of these restaurant owners, when contacted by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), turned out to support the higher wage and were not happy to hear that their businesses were caught up in Berman's spin machine.

<h2 style=" line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Richard Berman, a.k.a. "Dr. Evil," Strikes Again</h2>

Berman’s lobbying and public relations firm, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Berman%26_Co." target="blank" style=" text-decoration: none;">Berman & Company</a>, serves clients in the fast-food, alcohol, and tobacco industries, all with a stake in keeping the minimum wage as low as possible. He has long been known for creating front groups and attack-dog websites to bedevil industry targets including consumer groups, environmental groups, the Humane Society, and even CMD. He was dubbed <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PApCMdZQnuQ" target="blank" style=" text-decoration: none;">"Dr. Evil" by 60 Minutes</a> in 2007 and exposed more recently in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/10/us/politics/fight-over-minimum-wage-illustrates-web-of-industry-ties.html?r=0" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration: none;">New York Times</a>.

A former restaurant industry executive, Berman also <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/10/us/politics/fight-over-minimum-wage-illustrates-web-of-industry-ties.html" target="blank" style=" text-decoration: none;">created</a> a corporate-funded "think tank" the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Employment_Policies_Institute" target="blank" style=" text-decoration: none;">Employment Policies Institute</a> (EPI) run by Michael Saltsman out of Berman's office, who <a href="http://www.cjr.org/behind_the_news/letters_man.php" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration: none;">presents himself</a> as a "scholarly researcher" instead of a flack on the attack paid by Berman’s industry clients to pen endless op-eds warning of the dire consequences of raising the minimum wage.

<h2 style=" line-height: 2em; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em;">Faces of 15 Website Misleads</h2>

In April EPI launched the new website, "Faces of 15" (facesof15.com), ostensibly to highlight "The consequences of minimum wage hikes" on small businesses. The website features more than two dozen "struggling" small businesses in L.A., Oakland, and Seattle that it presents as the real faces of the national campaign dubbed the "Fight for $15."

Contacted by CMD about the use of their stories in an anti-minimum wage PR campaign, representatives of several of the businesses on "Faces of 15" had no knowledge of the website and in fact disagreed with its message.

Jeremy Price, co-owner of Seattle-based restaurant <a href="http://www.thewalrusbar.com/" target="_blank" style=" text-decoration: none;">The Walrus & The Carpenter</a>, told CMD "we were not aware" the restaurant was being used in an anti-minimum wage PR campaign.

"In point of fact, Walrus voluntarily adopted the $15/hr wage a few years ahead of Seattle's min wage ordinance," said Price. "It has been a positive change for our staff and our business. We expect others to follow our lead here in Seattle over the next 6 months."

- See more at: http://www.prwatch.org/node/12918#sthash.fLYbwNNq.dpuf

==

To Washington insiders he is <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/meet-rick-berman-aka-dr-evil/" name="in body link" id="in body link">Dr Evil:</a> [3] the hidden orchestrator of industry campaigns against the Humane Society, Mothers against Drunk Driving, and other seemingly uncontroversial groups.

Now Richard Berman, a one-time lobbyist turned industry strategist, has zeroed in on another target: <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jun/02/obama-rules-coal-climate-change" name="in body link" id="in body link">Barack Obama’s new power plant rules</a> [4].

Over the last year, Berman has secretly routed funding for at least 16 studies and launched at least five front groups attacking Environmental Protection Agency rules cutting carbon dioxide from power plants, the Guardian has learned.

The rules, the centre-piece of Obama’s climate agenda, are due to be finalised in mid-summer. They have come under sustained assault from industry and Republican-controlled Congress – and Berman is right at the heart of it.

The attacks may be gaining traction. The EPA chief, Gina McCarthy, suggested in a speech this week the rules were likely to change in response to public comment.

From the offices of Berman’s PR firm in Washington, at least five new front groups have launched attack ads against the EPA, environmental groups, fishermen and sportsmen, and green building organisations. The groups all use Berman’s address.

Meanwhile, the<a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="https://www.epionline.org/" name="in body link" id="in body link"> Employment Policies Institute</a> [5], a tax-exempt organisation headed by Berman and operating out of his office according to tax filings, funded a series of reports by an ultra-conservative thinktank, the <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://www.beaconhill.org/" name="in body link" id="in body link">Beacon Hill Institute</a> [6].

The reports, claiming the power plant rules would lead to rolling blackouts, send electricity prices skyrocketing, and devastate local economies, are being published in 16 states by a network of pro-corporate and ultra-conservative thinktanks.

All of the reports were funded by EPI, according to Suffolk University, the host institution for Beacon Hill. Suffolk released a <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://http//www.suffolk.edu/documents/ORSP/orsp_news_may_2014.pdf" name="in body link" id="in body link">list of such grants.</a> [7]

Berman did not respond to requests for comment. However, a spokesman, Jordan Bruneau, confirmed that EPI was funding the analyses of the EPA regulations.

“Currently IPA is working with economists to determine the effects of certain EPA regulations on particular states,” he said in an email. He said the research was entirely funded by foundations but refused to identify those funders.

Those familiar with Berman say he is a prime example of a new industry strategy of bypassing traditional lobbying organisations, and using thinktanks, foundations, experts, and social media to shape the public conversation and – ultimately – legislation.

“Richard Berman is very well known for certain front groups and for taking money from anonymous sources to fund aggressive campaigns in the interests of the individuals and the corporations who fund him with the understanding that that funding will be kept secret,” said Nick Surgey, research director of the Center for Media and Democracy.

Indeed, Berman claims his ability to hide the funding sources for such campaigns as a particular expertise.

“People always ask me one question all the time: ‘How do I know that I won’t be found out as a supporter of what you’re doing?’” Berman told a conference of energy executives last year. The talk was <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://http//www.nytimes.com/2014/10/31/us/politics/pr-executives-western-energy-alliance-speech-taped.html?_r=1" name="in body link" id="in body link">secretly recorded</a> [8] and leaked to the New York Times.

“We run all of this stuff through non-profit organisations that are insulated from having to disclose donors. There is total anonymity. People don’t know who supports us,” Berman told the energy executives.

He claimed at the time to have already collected six-figure sums from some of the companies in the room – and solicited $3m more to defeat opponents of fracking.

On such a scale, the funding for an economic study taking down the EPA rules appears relatively economical. Beacon Hill received $41,500 from the Employment Policies Institute for a study of the EPA rules, according to the grants list maintained by Suffolk University.

The funds were allocated to produce reports on the impact of the EPA rules in 16 states including: Iowa, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Virginia, Louisiana, Rhode Island, Washington Ohio, Alaska and Utah, a spokesman for Suffolk University said.

The university spokesman said in an email that the grants followed university protocol. “Suffolk does not accept research funds from unknown sources,” the spokesman said in an email.

Beacon Hill is associated with a network of ultra-conservative groups working with the American Legislative Exchange Council and funded by patrons of anti-government causes such as the Koch brothers and Searle Freedom Trust.

Its director, David Tuerck, appears on the roster of experts at the Heartland Institute, which adopts an extreme-sceptic position on the existence of human-caused climate change. Tuerck has also featured as a keynote speaker at Heartland’s climate conferences.

He told the Guardian he had mixed views on climate change. “I am not certain that those emissions are significant enough to offset other factor changing the climate,” he said. But he was categorical that efforts to cut emissions were “a waste of time”.

“We are just heaping unnecessary costs on the American economy,” he said. “It’s as obvious as the nose on anybody’s face these EPA regulations are inevitably going to drive up electricity rates.”

Over the years, BHI has been accused of using discredited economic models to exaggerate the costs and downplay the benefits of government regulations.

“I think what is dangerous about BHI is that on the face of it appears to be an academic institute producing independent reports but when you peel back the first layer of the onion you find that Beacon Hill often skews reports in favour of their funders,” Surgey said.

In 2013, Suffolk University <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://http//www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/05/host-university-research-group-climate-suffolk-university" name="in body link" id="in body link">publicly repudiated Beacon Hill </a> [9]after the Guardian reported the organisation told prospective funders its studies could undermine a regional climate change initiative. The claim did not follow Suffolk University rules for grant proposals, the university said.

Jay Duffy, a legal fellow at the Clean Air Task Force, said the current BHI analysis of the EPA rules did not meet the usual academic standards. “BHI’s interpretation of EPA’s analysis just doesn’t hold up,” he said. “BHI has skewed timelines, underestimated the social cost of carbon, and overestimated the effect on electricity prices. As a result, their study badly inflates the costs and minimises the benefits of EPA’s draft rules.”

BHI defended the study. “Our costs are within the broad range of costs that the EPA produces,” said Paul Bachman, who directly oversaw the study. “It’s just that we don’t include – we exclude – what they call the co-benefits of the proposal.”

Berman’s other forays into the environmental arena this year have been hard-hitting.

One prime example was the Environmental Policy Alliance – a mirror image of the government agency – which, according to the website, is “devoted to uncovering the funding and hidden agendas behind environmental activist groups and exploring the intersection between activists and government agencies”.

The group oversees four projects aimed at discrediting the government agency and environmental and conservation groups.

In a full page ad in Politico last year, one of the projects, <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://https//epafacts.com" name="in body link" id="in body link">EPA Facts</a> [10], asked: “What would you call a radical organisation that threatens to shut down 25% of our electrical grid?” The ad crossed off responses including anarchist, terrorist and militia before coming to Obama’s EPA.

Another Berman creation <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://http/https://www.biggreenradicals.com" name="in body link" id="in body link">Big Green Radicals</a> [11] claims environmental groups are funded by Russian oil interests close to Vladimir Putin, put up billboards on the Pennsylvania turnpike attacking Lady Gaga, Robert Redford and other <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://https//www.biggreenradicals.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Robert-Redford-Billboard.jpg" name="in body link" id="in body link">celebrities who oppose fracking</a> [12], and sent a poison Valentine to the <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://http//350.org/breaking-up-with-fossil-fuels-is-easy-to-do/" name="in body link" id="in body link">fossil fuel divestment campaign.</a> [13]

<a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://%20https//www.greendecoys.com" name="in body link" id="in body link">Green Decoys </a> [14]takes on sportsmen and fishermen who support the power plant rules. <a data-component="in-body-link" data-link="" href="http://http//www.leedexposed.com/" name="in body link" id="in body link">Leed Exposed</a> [15] opposes green building codes.

The outrageous claims are a key part of the strategy, Berman has claimed. “Berman and Company isn’t your average PR firm,” his company website said. “We don’t just change the debate. If necessary, we start the debate.”

==

<a href="http://www.prwatch.org/node/12543">http://www.prwatch.org/node/12543</a>

update

==

CMD has long tracked the activities of Berman -- dubbed <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://org.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=LnuHv9S0RqYwfjgtw4K5XfXHgJvLdd7r" style=" text-decoration: none; line-height: 1.2em; outline: none;">"Dr. Evil" in a 60 Minutes profile</a> -- and we have documented his role in laying down fake grassroots "Astroturf" support for everyone from big tobacco to the fast food industry. We recently detailed how his phony "Employment Policies Institute" is leading the charge against minimum wage increases and attacking paid sick day campaigns. EPI tries to pass itself off as a "think tank," but instead of a passel of Phds, this stink tank is full of phony statistics and frontmen. These are the jokesters who redbaited actual economists -- who back an increase in the minimum wage -- in a full page ad in the New York Times.

Our work exposing Berman led to coverage in the New York Times and on All In with Chris Hayes. Berman's attacks on us -- through his front group "Activist Cash" -- are proof that we are getting under his skin. The front groups and spinmeisters that we are exposing are backed by low-road industries with virtually unlimited resources. CMD has a small staff and a tiny budget, but we have the truth on our side -- and we have you.

==

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Employment_Policies_Institute

The Employment Policies Institute (EPI) is one of several <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Front_groups" title="Front groups">front groups</a> created by <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Berman_%26_Co." title="Berman & Co.">Berman & Co.</a>, a Washington, DC public affairs firm owned by <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Rick_Berman" title="Rick Berman">Rick Berman</a>, who lobbies for the restaurant, hotel, alcoholic beverage and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tobacco_industry" title="Tobacco industry">tobacco industries</a>. While most commonly referred to as EPI, it is registered as a <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=501%28c%29%283%29" title="501(c)(3)">501(c)(3)</a> tax-exempt organization under the name of "Employment Policies Institute Foundation." In its annual Internal Revenue Service return, EPI states that it "shares office space with Berman & Company on a cost pass through basis". <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#cite_note-0" title="">[1]</a>

<h2>Contents</h2>

[<a href="javascript:toggleToc()" class="internal" id="togglelink">hide</a>]</div>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#Creation_of_.22Rethink_Reform.22">1 Creation of "Rethink Reform"</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#Advertising_against_ACORN">2 Advertising against ACORN</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#Against_raising_the_minimum_wage">3 Against raising the minimum wage</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#History">4 History</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#The_Employment_Policies_Institute_in_tobacco_industry_documents">5 The Employment Policies Institute in tobacco industry documents</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#Personnel">6 Personnel</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#Staff">6.1 Staff</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#Directors_and_Officers">6.2 Directors and Officers</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#Former_Directors_and_Staff">6.3 Former Directors and Staff</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#Funding">6.4 Funding</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#Affiliated_organizations">7 Affiliated organizations</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#Contact_information">7.1 Contact information</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#Other_websites">7.2 Other websites</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#Articles_and_resources">8 Articles and resources</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#Related_SourceWatch_articles">8.1 Related SourceWatch articles</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#References">8.2 References</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#External_resources">8.3 External resources</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#External_articles">8.4 External articles</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

</ul>

</td></tr></tbody></table>

<h2>Creation of "Rethink Reform"</h2>

In 2009, EPI created a group called Committee to <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Rethink_Reform" title="Rethink Reform" class="mw-redirect">Rethink Reform</a> and started running <a href="http://www.bermanco.com/case-studies/" class="external text" title="http://www.bermanco.com/case-studies/" rel="nofollow">television, print, and radio advertisements</a> to mobilize opposition to the Democrats' health care reform legislation. The group is a 501 (c)4 organization and subsequently not required to disclose its donors--one of the hallmarks of a <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Rick_Berman" title="Rick Berman">Rick Berman</a>-operated group. The group has its own <a href="http://rethinkreform.com/" class="external text" title="http://rethinkreform.com/" rel="nofollow">Web site</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rethink-Reform/174812862857" class="external text" title="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rethink-Reform/174812862857" rel="nofollow">Facebook page</a>. Here, among other things, are some of their claims, which have been repeated in anti-reform politicians' talking points:

"When it comes to reforming the health care system, Congress is trying to do too much, too fast. Not everyone agrees that we need reform of America’s health care system. Unfortunately, Congressional leaders are cutting backroom deals with special interest groups and writing bills that will lead to higher taxes, higher insurance premiums and fewer health care choices. The solution is not more government intrusion into the health care system, but less. It’s time for Congress to rethink health care reform, focusing on: Increasing health care choices; Reining in health care costs; and Controlling the growth of government to avoid escalating the national debt."

</blockquote>

<div class="thumbcaption">Committee to Rethink Reform ad</div>

</div>

In 2010, they launched another print and TV advertising campaign against health care reform. The group faced controversy in March 2010 when it ran an advertisement in <a href="http://news.cincinnati.com/section/NEWS/News" class="external text" title="http://news.cincinnati.com/section/NEWS/News" rel="nofollow">The Cincinnati Enquirer</a> featuring a large picture of Representative <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Steven_Driehaus" title="Steven Driehaus">Steven Driehaus</a> (D-OH) and his two daughters. According to his spokesman, Driehaus was upset by the ad: "Rep. Driehaus thought the ad was outrageous, said the spokesman, Tim Mulvey. "He can take more than his fair share of political attacks, but this one crossed the line" <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/18/steve-driehaus-ohio-congr_n_504146.html" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/18/steve-driehaus-ohio-congr_n_504146.html" rel="nofollow">[1]</a>. Committee spokeswoman Sarah Longwell said showing the children was a mistake and that the group was taking out another ad to apologize: "...Politicians' children should bot be involved in public political debates and we deeply regret this mistake." Longwell said the committee already apologized directly to Driehaus. The Committee to Rethink Reform reported its apology on its <a href="http://rethinkreform.com/" class="external text" title="http://rethinkreform.com/" rel="nofollow">Web site</a>, while stating it would continue to urge Driehaus to oppose the bill <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/18/steve-driehaus-ohio-congr_n_504146.html" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/18/steve-driehaus-ohio-congr_n_504146.html" rel="nofollow">[2]</a>.

The Center for Media and Democracy, which publishes SourceWatch.org, is looking into the nature of the claims they are making and their funding.

They have also spent substantial funds on ads in other right-wing campaigns, as described below.

<h2>Advertising against ACORN</h2>

In October 2008, as Republicans were accusing <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=ACORN" title="ACORN" class="mw-redirect">ACORN</a>, which organizes in low-income communities, of "<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=ACORN_and_elections" title="ACORN and elections">voter fraud</a>," EPI took out a full-page ad in the New York Times that directed readers to www.RottenAcorn.com. The ad accused "ACORN of a list of abuses that suggest hypocrisy on some of the group's signature issues: intimidating and firing its own employees if they try to unionize, misappropriating millions of dollars from taxpayer-funded government grants and advocating minimum wage hides while paying its own employees less than minimum wage," reported ProPublica. EPI and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_Consumer_Freedom" title="Center for Consumer Freedom">Center for Consumer Freedom</a> spokesperson <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tim_Miller" title="Tim Miller">Tim Miller</a> said they placed the ad because after the election, "a lot of the coverage of ACORN is going to go away, but they are going to continue the same corrupt and fraudulent practices." <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#cite_note-NYTad-1" title="">[2]</a>

For years, EPI had fought "ACORN's efforts to increase the minimum wage at the state and federal levels." ACORN says the charges in EPI's are untrue. For example, the group "pledged complete neutrality" when one of its offices "wanted to form a union," explained ACORN's <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Steve_Kest&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Steve Kest (page does not exist)">Steve Kest</a>. The employees eventually "decided not to pursue [the union], so nothing came of it." <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#cite_note-NYTad-1" title="">[2]</a>

<a name="Against_raising_the_minimum_wage" id="Against_raising_the_minimum_wage"> </a>[

npr:

But conservatives have been after ACORN for years.

"It is an organization that has a very outsized role in the democratic process," says Tim Miller of the business-backed Employment Policies Institute, which produced a 2006 report titled "Rotten ACORN, America's Bad Seed."

Miller points to the ouster of ACORN's founder earlier this year after the controller, the founder's brother, had embezzled nearly a million dollars.

"When you think about a truly transparent organization, there would never be any way somebody could embezzle such a large amount," he says.

The Employment Policies Institute also criticizes ACORN's organizational structure. ACORN has dozens of subsidiaries. Some get federal funds. Some get money from charities such as the liberal Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and the not-so-liberal Bank of America Charitable Foundation.

Miller says ACORN moves money around among the subsidiaries. He says it "essentially gives them a cloak that prevents people from seeing really how they're spending money that comes, in some cases, from the taxpayers, in other cases, comes from members of their organization who pay dues."

But right now, voter fraud is the GOP's top campaign message. The Republican National Committee produced an online ad called "ACORN Chicago" that reads: "Nationwide voter fraud. Barack Obama. Bad judgment. Blind ambition. Too risky for America."

]

<h2>Against raising the minimum wage</h2>

Rick Berman created EPI in 1991 to "argue the importance of minimum wage jobs for the poor and uneducated."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#cite_note-2" title="">[3]</a>

EPI has has been widely quoted in news stories regarding minimum wage issues, and although a few of those stories have correctly described it as a "<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Think_tank" title="Think tank" class="mw-redirect">think tank</a> financed by business," most stories fail to provide any identification that would enable readers to identify the vested interests behind its pronouncements. Instead, it is usually described exactly the way it describes itself, as a "non-profit research organization dedicated to studying public policy issues surrounding employment growth" that "focuses on issues that affect entry-level employment." In reality, EPI's mission is to keep the minimum wage low so Berman's clients can continue to pay their workers as little as possible.

EPI also owns the internet domain names to <a href="http://www.minimumwage.com" class="external text" title="http://www.minimumwage.com" rel="nofollow">MinimumWage.com</a> and <a href="http://www.livingwage.com" class="external text" title="http://www.livingwage.com" rel="nofollow">LivingWage.com</a>, a website that attempts to portray the idea of a living wage for workers as some kind of insidious conspiracy. "Living wage activists want nothing less than a national livingwage," it warns (as though there is something wrong with paying employees enough that they can afford to eat and pay rent).

<h2>History</h2>

The Employment Policies Institute was launched in 1991, around the time of the economic recession that led to the electoral defeat of then-president George Bush. EPI deliberately attempted to create confusion in the eyes of journalists and the general public by adopting a name which closely resembles the <a href="http://www.epinet.org/" class="external text" title="http://www.epinet.org/" rel="nofollow">Economic Policy Institute</a>, a much older, progressive think tank with ties to organized labor. In addition to imitating the name and acronym of the Economic Policy Institute, Berman's outfit even used the same typeface for its logo. In reality, the two groups have dramatically different public policy agendas. The Economic Policy supports a living wage and mandated health benefits for workers. Berman's organization opposes both and in fact opposes any minimum wage whatsoever.

In 1992, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Los_Angeles_Times" title="Los Angeles Times" class="mw-redirect">Los Angeles Times</a> business columnist <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Harry_Bernstein&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Harry Bernstein (page does not exist)">Harry Bernstein</a> noted that EPI was using "misleading studies" to help put a positive spin on rising unemployment. "The conservative EPI, financed mostly by low-wage companies such as hotels and restaurants, is issuing reports the titles of which alone could help put a bright face on the miserable job scene," Bernstein wrote. "The latest one is 'The Value of Part-Time Workers to the American Economy.' It hails as a great thing the distressing growth of part-time jobs because they offer 'flexibility' in economic planning for both workers and companies, and say that flexibility is vital 'in the growing and increasingly competitive global economy.' Tell that nonsense to the more than 6.5 million workers forced to take part-time jobs because nothing else is available. That is an increase of more than 1.5 million involuntary part-timers since 1990, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says." EPI has been doing more or less the same thing ever since, sponsoring cooked studies and issuing tendentious sound bytes whenever attempts are made to establish healthcare or better wages for workers.

Then, as now, fast-food employees were the largest group of low-paid workers in the United States. One-quarter of the workers in the restaurant industry are estimated to earn the minimum wage--a higher proportion than in any other U.S. industry. This is the real reason why EPI appears on the scene whenever federal or local governments consider a proposal to increase the minimum wage. Its standard tactic is to trot out a study using contrived statistics designed to show that hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost if the wage is raised. (In reality, studies by labor economists show that the job-loss effect of increasing the minimum wage is either small or nonexistent and that its benefits to low-wage workers and their families far outweigh the costs. Even the Food Institute Report, an industry trade publication, admitted in 1995 that "the weight of the empirical evidence suggests that the effects [on the number of available jobs] of a moderate raise from its current level are likely to be negligible.")

Berman continued to fight against mandated insurance in 1992 and 1993, when president-elect <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=William_Jefferson_Clinton" title="William Jefferson Clinton" class="mw-redirect">Bill Clinton</a> attempted to make health care reform one of his first legislative priorities. Berman created yet another front group, called the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Partnership_on_Health_Care_and_Employment&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Partnership on Health Care and Employment (page does not exist)">Partnership on Health Care and Employment</a>, representing mostly large companies known for paying low wages and high worker turnover. It sponsored a study in 1992 claiming that compulsory insurance for business would wipe out nine million jobs. During the health reform debate in 1994, the Employment Policies Institute issued its own "study," claiming that the Clinton plan would wipe out 3.1 million jobs. The EPI study was cited in TV commercials sponsored by the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Republican_National_Committee" title="Republican National Committee">Republican National Committee</a>, which continued to air even after Berman admitted that his study had actually been produced before the Clinton administration even formulated the details of its health plan.

In 1995, EPI lashed out at <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Princeton_University&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Princeton University (page does not exist)">Princeton University</a> professors <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=David_Card&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="David Card (page does not exist)">David Card</a> and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Alan_Krueger" title="Alan Krueger" class="mw-redirect">Alan Krueger</a>, after they published a survey of fast-food restaurants which found no loss in the number of jobs in New Jersey after implementing an increase in the state's minimum wage. Berman accused Card and Krueger of using bad data, citing contrary figures that his own institute had collected from some of the same restaurants. But whereas Card and Krueger had surveyed 410 restaurants, Berman's outfit only collected data from 71 restaurants and has refused to make its data publicly available so that other researchers can assess whether it "cherry-picked" restaurants to create a sample that would support its predetermined conclusions.

In September 1999, Berman launched another group, the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Roundtable" title="Employment Roundtable">Employment Roundtable</a>, to "build on the successes" of the EPI and to "find solutions for problems such as social security and health care." However, the Employment Roundtable has done nothing public of note.

<h2>The Employment Policies Institute in tobacco industry documents</h2>

The Employment Policies Institute, in a 1994 <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=R.J._Reynolds" title="R.J. Reynolds" class="mw-redirect">R.J. Reynolds</a>-drafted press release, predicted the loss of 2-3 million jobs if the Clinton Healthcare plan was enacted. The Clinton plan was to be funded through an additional federal tax on cigarettes.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#cite_note-3" title="">[4]</a>

A 1997 internal <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Philip_Morris" title="Philip Morris" class="mw-redirect">Philip Morris</a> presentation called indicates PM planned to "sponsor and participate" in the Employment Policies Institute to gain the organization's help in promoting PM's <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Accommodation_Program" title="Accommodation Program">Accommodation Program</a>, a strategy the company designed to fight smoking bans and preserve smoking in public places.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#cite_note-4" title="">[5]</a>

<h2>Personnel</h2>

<h3>Staff</h3>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Richard_Berman" title="Richard Berman" class="mw-redirect">Richard Berman</a> is listed as EPI's executive director.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sarah_Longwell" title="Sarah Longwell">Sarah Longwell</a> is a press contact for EPI and for the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_Union_Facts" title="Center for Union Facts">Center for Union Facts</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=David_Kreutzer" title="David Kreutzer">David Kreutzer</a>, economist, who in 2008 wrote letters to newspaper op/ed pages arguing against minimum wage hikes and payday loan industry regulation<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#cite_note-5" title="">[6]</a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#cite_note-6" title="">[7]</a></li>

</ul>

<h3>Directors and Officers</h3>

The EPI's 2005 return to the IRS lists the groups officers and directors as comprising:

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Richard_B._Berman" title="Richard B. Berman" class="mw-redirect">Richard B. Berman</a>, Executive Director</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Craig_Garthwaite&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Craig Garthwaite (page does not exist)">Craig Garthwaite</a>, Secretary/Treasurer</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jacob_Dweck&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Jacob Dweck (page does not exist)">Jacob Dweck</a>, Director</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jeff_Campbell&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Jeff Campbell (page does not exist)">Jeff Campbell</a>, Director</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=James_R._Ledley&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="James R. Ledley (page does not exist)">James R. Ledley</a>, Director</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Berman_%26_Company" title="Berman & Company" class="mw-redirect">Berman & Company</a> (Management company)</li>

</ul>

<h3>Former Directors and Staff</h3>

Other individuals previously associated with EPI include:

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Thomas_K._Dilworth" title="Thomas K. Dilworth">Thomas K. Dilworth</a>, whose name appeared in some news stories as EPI's research director and was listed as a director on the groups 2000 IRS return;</li>

<li>In 1999, EPI's Form 990 listed <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ray_Kraftson&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Ray Kraftson (page does not exist)">Ray Kraftson</a> as a director.</li>

<li>One of the trustees of EPI is <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Michael_Morgan" title="Michael Morgan">Michael Morgan</a>, personnel director for <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Northern_Foods&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Northern Foods (page does not exist)">Northern Foods</a>, a British-based food processing and manufacturing company.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Richard_Toikka&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Richard Toikka (page does not exist)">Richard Toikka</a>, a member of the <a href="http://www.rnla.org/bio/BioDetail.asp?MemberID=67" class="external text" title="http://www.rnla.org/bio/BioDetail.asp?MemberID=67" rel="nofollow">Republican National Lawyers Association</a>, is also EPI's chief economist.<a href="http://www.citylimits.org/content/articles/articleView.cfm?articlenumber=797" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.citylimits.org/content/articles/articleView.cfm?articlenumber=797" rel="nofollow">[3]</a></li>

<li>Restaurant magnate <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Norman_Brinker&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Norman Brinker (page does not exist)">Norman Brinker</a> has served as chairman of EPI. Brinker is the chairman and CEO of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Brinker_International" title="Brinker International">Brinker International</a>. He is also the founder of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Steak_and_Ale&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Steak and Ale (page does not exist)">Steak and Ale</a> restaurant chain, a former chairman of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Burger_King" title="Burger King">Burger King</a>, and past President of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Pillsbury&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Pillsbury (page does not exist)">Pillsbury</a> restaurant group (all of which are either former employers of Rick Berman or clients of Berman & Co.).</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Chris_Sullivan" title="Chris Sullivan">Chris Sullivan</a>, president and founder of Outback Steakhouses has served as chairman of EPI. According to an article in the New York Observer, Outback Steakhouses political aciton committee is a major sponser of the EPI. <a href="http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m0ICQ/2001_August_20/81475147/p1/article.jhtml?term=" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m0ICQ/2001_August_20/81475147/p1/article.jhtml?term=" rel="nofollow">[4]</a>;</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Doyle" title="John Doyle">John Doyle</a>, communications director for Berman & Co., also serves as a spokesman for the EPI, as well as two other Berman organizations, the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_Consumer_Freedom" title="Center for Consumer Freedom">Center for Consumer Freedom</a> and the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Beverage_Institute" title="American Beverage Institute">American Beverage Institute</a>.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Kevin_Lang&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Kevin Lang (page does not exist)">Kevin Lang</a> of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Boston_University&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Boston University (page does not exist)">Boston University</a> has authored a study sponsored by EPI.</li>

</ul>

<a name="Funding" id="Funding"> </a>--

srcwtch:

Tim Miller is the Communications Director for the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Center_for_Consumer_Freedom" title="Center for Consumer Freedom">Center for Consumer Freedom</a> (CCF). His name and contact information adorns each of the press releases put out by CCF.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Tim_Miller#cite_note-1">[1]</a> Miller is also listed as Communication Director of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Employee_Freedom_Action_Committee" title="Employee Freedom Action Committee">Employee Freedom Action Committee</a>, a Berman-created group lobbyonmg against the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Employee_Free_Choice_Act" title="Employee Free Choice Act">Employee Free Choice Act</a>.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Tim_Miller#cite_note-About-2">[2]</a>

He also wrote an editorial in the Des Moines Register voicing his own opposition of efforts to rid society of "payday lenders" - short term high interest lenders.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Tim_Miller#cite_note-3">[3]</a> Miller believes that consumers should have the right to borrow money from lenders who many might call "predatory" with interest rates up to 400% APR.

<h2>Contents</h2>

</div>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Tim_Miller#Articles_and_Resources">1 Articles and Resources</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Tim_Miller#Related_SourceWatch_Articles">1.1 Related SourceWatch Articles</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Tim_Miller#References">1.2 References</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Tim_Miller#External_Links">1.3 External Links</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

</ul>

</div>

<h2>Articles and Resources</h2>

<h3>Related SourceWatch Articles</h3>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Front_groups" title="Front groups">Front groups</a></li>

</ul>

<h3>References</h3>

</li></ol>

<ul>

<li id="cite_note-1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.consumerfreedom.com/pressRelease_detail.cfm/release/254">"Consumers Win Major Victory Over Seafood Scaremongers"</a>, Media Release, March 11, 2009.</li>

</li><li id="cite_note-About-2"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.employeefreedom.org/aboutUs.htm">"About the Employee Freedom Action Committee"</a>, Employee Freedom Action Committee website, accessed March 2008.</li>

</li><li style=" list-style: none;">

<li value="3" id="cite_note-3">Tim Miller, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080820/OPINION01/808200340/-1/BUSINESS04">"Don't Limit Consumers' Loan Options"</a>, Opinion column, Des Moines Register, August 20, 2008.</li>

</ol>

<h3>External Links</h3>

<ul>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.consumerfreedom.com/">Center for Consumer Freedom</a></li>

<li>"<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.madison.com/tct/archives/index.php?archAction=arch_read&a_from=search&a_file=%2Ftct%2F2008%2F03%2F07%2F0803070257.php&var_search=Search&keyword_field=center%20for%20consumer%20freedom&pub_code_field=tct&from_date_field=20080306&to_date_field=20080308&var_start_pos=0&var_articles_per_page=10">Payday Loans a Helpful Option for Consumers</a>," letter to the editor, The Capital Times (Madison, WI), March 7, 2008.</li>

</ul>

<table style=" margin: 0.5em 0.57em 0.5em 0.7em; border-collapse: collapse; background: #fffacd; border: 1px solid #dad26d;"><tbody><tr><td width="100%" style=" padding: .25em .25em 0.25em .25em;">This article is a <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/SourceWatch:Find_or_fix_a_stub" title="SourceWatch:Find or fix a stub">stub</a>. You can <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/SourceWatch:Find_or_fix_a_stub" title="SourceWatch:Find or fix a stub">help</a> by <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tim_Miller&action=edit">expanding it</a>.</td><td>

</td></tr></tbody></table>

</div>

<div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>:

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Category:Public_relations_professionals" title="Category:Public relations professionals">Public relations professionals</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Category:Stubs" title="Category:Stubs">Stubs</a></li>

</ul>

</div>

</li>

</ul>

---

<h3>Funding</h3>

The IRS Form 990 for the year for the 2005 calendar year for the Employment Policies Institute Foundation states that its total revenue was $1,801,371. Of this $870,616 went to <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Berman_%26_Company" title="Berman & Company" class="mw-redirect">Berman & Company</a> for "management services". The bulk of the group's expenses in 2005 were for PR related activities. $699,572 was spent on "media and message promotion", $229,069 on "marketing" and $324,618 on "issue research". <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#cite_note-7" title="">[8]</a> The same year, EPI gave $307,995 by way of grants to the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=FirstJobs_Institute" title="FirstJobs Institute">FirstJobs Institute</a>, which it describes as an "economic literacy program". <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#cite_note-8" title="">[9]</a>

The group's 2000 IRS return stated that the group received $1,163,248 in income for the year, most of which ($940,593) came from 17 anonymous donors. Of that amount, $717,812 went to Berman & Co. for "management services," and another $165,766 in salary and benefits went personally to Rick Berman. Comparable figures appear in EPI's Form 990 for previous years.

According to the Right Guide, funders of EPI have included the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_M.Olin_Foundation" title="John M. Olin Foundation">John M. Olin Foundation</a> and the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Claude_R.Lamb_Charitable_Foundation&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Claude R. Lamb Charitable Foundation (page does not exist)">Claude R. Lamb Charitable Foundation</a>.

<h2>Affiliated organizations</h2>

In its 2005 IRS return, EPI lists the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=FirstJobs_Institute" title="FirstJobs Institute">FirstJobs Institute</a> as an organisation it is directly or indirectly affiliated with. (FirstJobs is designated as a <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=501%28c%29%286%29&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="501(c)(6) (page does not exist)">501(c)(6)</a> organization by the IRS). In statement 15 of its IRS return, EPI describes the relationship as being for a "joint educational project, 'Econ4u'". Elsewhere it states that that EPI and the 'Institute' "shared free common office space and overhead expenses provided under the management agreement with Berman and Company". It also states that the Institute "solicited funds for the educational portion of the joint project on employment Policies Institute Foundation's behalf." <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#cite_note-9" title="">[10]</a>

<h3>Contact information</h3>

Like other <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Berman_%26_Co." title="Berman & Co.">Berman & Co.</a> front groups, EPI is headquartered at the following address:

Berman & Co.

1775 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 1200

Washington, DC 20006

Phone: 202 463 7650

FAX: (202) 463-7107

Email: rberman AT new-reality.com

Main website: <a href="http://www.epionline.org" class="external free" title="http://www.epionline.org" rel="nofollow">http://www.epionline.org</a>

<ul>

<li>EPI's previous phone number, (202) 463-7110, was the same as for other Berman front groups such as the Center for Consumer Freedom.</li>

<li>search google for above fax# "(202) 463-7107" <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=%22%28202%29+463-7107%22" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.google.com/search?q=%22(202)+463-7107%22" rel="nofollow">[5]</a></li>

</ul>

<h3>Other websites</h3>

In its 2005 IRS return EPI lists other websites other than its main website as including (see statement 1):

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.livingwage.org" class="external free" title="http://www.livingwage.org" rel="nofollow">http://www.livingwage.org</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.minimumwage.com" class="external free" title="http://www.minimumwage.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.minimumwage.com</a></li>

<li><a href="http://gatewayjobs.org" class="external free" title="http://gatewayjobs.org" rel="nofollow">http://gatewayjobs.org</a></li>

<li><a href="http://livingwageresearch.com" class="external free" title="http://livingwageresearch.com" rel="nofollow">http://livingwageresearch.com</a></li>

<li><a href="http://rottenacorn.org" class="external free" title="http://rottenacorn.org" rel="nofollow">http://rottenacorn.org</a></li>

<li><a href="http://defeatthedebt.com" class="external free" title="http://defeatthedebt.com" rel="nofollow">http://defeatthedebt.com</a></li>

</ul>

<h2>Articles and resources</h2>

<h3>Related SourceWatch articles</h3>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=ActivistCash.com" title="ActivistCash.com">ActivistCash.com</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Beverage_Institute" title="American Beverage Institute">American Beverage Institute</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=A_Visit_to_the_ActivistCash.Com_Web_Site" title="A Visit to the ActivistCash.Com Web Site" class="mw-redirect">A Visit to the ActivistCash.Com Web Site</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Berman_%26_Co." title="Berman & Co.">Berman & Co.</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Rick_Berman" title="Rick Berman">Rick Berman</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_Consumer_Freedom" title="Center for Consumer Freedom">Center for Consumer Freedom</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Roundtable" title="Employment Roundtable">Employment Roundtable</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=The_Center_for_Union_Facts" title="The Center for Union Facts" class="mw-redirect">The Center for Union Facts</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Defeat_the_Debt" title="Defeat the Debt">Defeat the Debt</a></li>

</ul>

<h3>References</h3>

<li id="cite_note-0"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#cite_ref-0" title="">↑</a> Employment Policies Institute Foundation, "Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax", 2005, Statement 12.</li>

<li id="cite_note-NYTad-1">↑ <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#cite_ref-NYTad_1-0" title="">2.0</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#cite_ref-NYTad_1-1" title="">2.1</a> Mosi Secret, "[<a href="http://www.propublica.org/article/rotten-acorn-ad-funded-by-anti-minimum-wage-group/" class="external free" title="http://www.propublica.org/article/rotten-acorn-ad-funded-by-anti-minimum-wage-group/" rel="nofollow">http://www.propublica.org/article/rotten-acorn-ad-funded-by-anti-minimum-wage-group/</a> 'Rotten' ACORN Ad Funded by Anti-Minimum Wage Group]," ProPublica, October 29, 2008.</li>

<li id="cite_note-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#cite_ref-2" title="">↑</a> Richard B. Berman <a href="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/quk06c00" class="external text" title="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/quk06c00" rel="nofollow">Richard B. Berman</a> Resume'. January 1995. Philip Morris Bates No. 2072148764</li>

<li id="cite_note-3"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#cite_ref-3" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/bnx43d00" class="external text" title="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/bnx43d00" rel="nofollow">Peaceful Times. Local smoking bans backfire, hurt restaurants</a> R.J. Reynolds. July 15, 1994. Bates No. 511413918/3923</li>

<li id="cite_note-4"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#cite_ref-4" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/sna18d00" class="external text" title="http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/sna18d00" rel="nofollow">Our Presentation is About: A A</a> Philip Morris internal presentation; January 1997. Bates No. 2070258088/8114</li>

<li id="cite_note-5"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#cite_ref-5" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/letter/269278" class="external free" title="http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/letter/269278" rel="nofollow">http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/letter/269278</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-6"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#cite_ref-6" title="">↑</a> <a href="http://dispatch.com/live/content/editorials/stories/2008/02/05/Kreutzer_ART_02-05-08_A8_9697TN1.html?sid=101" class="external free" title="http://dispatch.com/live/content/editorials/stories/2008/02/05/Kreutzer_ART_02-05-08_A8_9697TN1.html?sid=101" rel="nofollow">http://dispatch.com/live/content/editorials/stories/2008/02/05/Kreutzer_ART_02-05-08_A8_9697TN1.html?sid=101</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-7"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#cite_ref-7" title="">↑</a> Employment Policies Institute Foundation, "Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax", 2005, Statement 2.</li>

<li id="cite_note-8"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#cite_ref-8" title="">↑</a> Employment Policies Institute Foundation, "Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax", 2005, Statement 4.</li>

<li id="cite_note-9"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Employment_Policies_Institute#cite_ref-9" title="">↑</a> Employment Policies Institute Foundation, "Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax", 2005, Statement 14.</li>

</ol>

<h3>External resources</h3>

<h3>External articles</h3>

<ul>

<li>James Verini, "<a href="http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m0ICQ/2001_August_20/81475147/p1/article.jhtml?term=" class="external text" title="http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m0ICQ/2001_August_20/81475147/p1/article.jhtml?term=" rel="nofollow">Bull Market: Forrest and Kimberly Smith Think New Yorkers Will Be Kookaburra for Their Cheap Steaks</a>", New York Observer, August 20, 2001.</li>

<li>Michael P., "<a href="http://www.infosnack.org/2008/09/metro-center-advertising-front-groups.html" class="external text" title="http://www.infosnack.org/2008/09/metro-center-advertising-front-groups.html" rel="nofollow">Metro Center Advertising - Front Groups</a> ," blog "Infosnack Headquarters," September 24, 2008.</li>

</ul>

<div id="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Front_groups_portal" title="Category:Front groups portal">Front groups portal</a> | <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Tobaccowiki" title="Category:Tobaccowiki">Tobaccowiki</a> | <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Front_groups" title="Category:Front groups">Front groups</a> | <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:United_States" title="Category:United States">United States</a> | <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:Labor" title="Category:Labor">Labor</a></div>

</div>

===

Scholars at UC Berkeley recently released a study finding that low wages in the fast food industry cost taxpayers $7 billion every year [3] in a raft of social supports that subsidize the salaries of these low-income workers. The professors argue that the minimum wage should be increased to relieve the burden on taxpayers who underwrite super-sized restaurant industry profits.

Richard BermanBut as the bona fide academic study rolled out, multiple media outlets ran comments criticizing the report’s numbers and methodology from the scholarly sounding “Employment Policies Institute (EPI).” The Austin Business Journal [4] characterized EPI as a think tank “which studies employment growth,” while the Miami Herald [5] ran a quote from Michael Saltsman, who the paper named as EPI’s “research director.”

For his part, Mr. Saltsman ran aggressive op-eds against any minimum wage increase in papers such as the The Missoulian [6], where he was described as EPI’s “research fellow.” In an op-ed he wrote for the Washington Post [7], his title was listed as EPI’s “research director” but with a notation that EPI “receives funding from restaurants, among other sources.” But even this partial disclosure provides a disservice to readers in the nation’s capital.

In fact, the Employment Policies Institute operates from the same office suite [8] as Berman and Company, a public relations firm owned by Richard Berman [8]. This is not an opinion; it’s a fact anyone can verify by viewing EPI and Berman and Company’s websites. The 990 for the Employment Policies Institute Foundation (EPIF) lists Rick Berman as the CEO; in 2011 his for-profit firm was paid $1.5 million of EPIF's total $2.1 million budget. If you’re wondering how a PR company could so easily fool newspapers across the country—including the Post, which regularly pats itself on the back for breaking Watergate—then you haven’t woken up to the crisis of American journalism.

According to Pew Research Center [9], newspaper newsrooms have shrunk 30% since 2000, leaving fewer than 40,000 newspaper employees across the country, the lowest number since 1978. In such a depressed media environment — where there are four public relations flacks for every reporter, compared to a 1-to-1 ratio in the 1960s – it is not surprising that a P.R. company could successfully rebrand itself as a think tank and capitalize on an acronym held by an actual think tank, the Economic Policy Institute, with 20 staff and 36 respected research associates. Unilke the Berman group, the Economic Policy Institute lists its staff, its raft of experts, its board, its annual report and its annual audit, which shows its funders, right on its website [10].

At the Center for Media and Democracy [8], we have spent twenty years tracking disinformation and spin, and Richard Berman has long been one of our favorite research subjects. Berman came out of the restaurant industry, spending several years as a top executive at Steak and Ale before launching Berman and Company to help advocate for corporate America. His clients have included tobacco companies (for which he formed an entity he called the Center for Consumer Freedom) and the alcohol industry (for which he created the American Beverage Institute). He was once profiled on a 60 Minutes piece titled “Dr. Evil.” But one of his most successful products has been the Employment Policies Institute.

EPI regularly opines in the press on a host of topics. Recently EPI has been working to show that restaurant workers don’t need higher wages or paid sick days, but few Americans are informed by the press that this “think tank” is just one or two working for spinmeister Berman, likely on a contract for the restaurant industry.

We recently analyzed three years of newspaper stories from across the country that quoted from EPI or Michael Saltsman.

In 83% of the stories we examined, reporters provided readers with no information about EPI’s relationship with Berman and Company. In most cases, journalists stated that EPI is a “Washington DC nonprofit” and called Saltsman a “research director.” In some instances, reporters took tentative steps in the right direction and called EPI “conservative” or “pro business.” Only about 3% of the time did they correctly link EPI to Berman and Company.

Failing to note EPI’s role as an arm of Berman and Company fools readers into thinking they are a legitimate and independent voice in national politics. In 37% of stories we found reporters tapped EPI to counter positions by government experts or politicians; in 39% EPI was used to counter policy experts at nonprofits; and 22% of the time, EPI was used as a counterpoint to academics at American universities.

Certainly corporations have a right to have their voice heard, but that voice should be their own; not that of phony experts on retainer.

*

This article originally appeared in Salon.  [11]

Topics: Corporate Social Responsibility [12]  Economy [13]

News Types: Op-Ed [14]

Attachment Size

rick_berman_empi_990_filed_11-9-12.pdf [15] 1.67 MB

PR Watch is published by the Center for Media and Democracy. © Center for Media and Democracy 2013.

Source URL: http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/11/12306/don%E2%80%99t-be-hoodwinked-pr-firm-posing-think-tank

Links:

[1] http://www.prwatch.org/users/35268/lisa-graves

[2] http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/11/12306/don%E2%80%99t-be-hoodwinked-pr-firm-posing-think-tank

[3] http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-worst-minumum-wage-bill-before-the-dc-council/2013/10/18/77cc1dc8-34f3-11e3-80c6-7e6dd8d22d8f_story.html

[4] http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2013/10/16/most-texas-fast-food-employees-use.html

[5] http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/10/15/3691189/report-burger-king-workers-collecting.html

[6] http://http://missoulian.com/news/opinion/columnists/how-a--cent-wage-increase-hurts-montana/article_75ce8f3e-37fe-11e3-b963-0019bb2963f4.html

[7] http://http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-worst-minumum-wage-bill-before-the-dc-council/2013/10/18/77cc1dc8-34f3-11e3-80c6-7e6dd8d22d8f_story.html

[8] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Berman_%26_Co.

[9] http://stateofthemedia.org

[10] http://www.epi.org/about/

[11] http://www.salon.com/2013/11/13/corporate_americas_new_scam_industry_p_r_firm_poses_as_think_tank/

[12] http://www.prwatch.org/topics/corporations/corporate-social-responsibility

[13] http://www.prwatch.org/topics/economy

[14] http://www.prwatch.org/news-types/op-ed

[15] http://www.prwatch.org/files/rick_berman_empi_990_filed_11-9-12.pdf