Talk:Center for Union Facts
Involvement in the Wisconsin Gubernatorial Recall Election
In the 2012 gubernatorial recall election in Wisconsin, Center for Union Facts spent just over $1 million on ads supporting Scott Walker.[1] One such ad, included here, does not mention Scott Walker or the recall. Salon reported that, "rather, [they] consist entirely of ads that CUF has already been running around the country... But make no mistake, the ads are about keeping Walker in office."[2] A CUF source said at the time, "'Wisconsin is one of our bigger buys at the moment,” says the CUF source, adding that, “we’re planning on moving into more states soon.”'[3]
Funding
In 2011, the Center for Union Facts reported $3,239,543 in total revenue, and $3,238,574 in gifts, grants, and contributions received.[4]
Between 2006 and 2012, Center for Union Facts received $1.92 million in funding from the Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation.[5]
Further specificity regarding CUF's funding are unknown. United Press International noted that "the group's spokesman refused to release the names of its donors or say where its funding came from." [1]
Berman told Bloomberg reporter Kim Bowman in 2006 that he had raised "about $2.5 million from companies, trade organizations and individuals, whom he declined to identify." [2]
Sarah Longwell, a spokeswoman for the Center for Union Facts, echoed Berman's groups standard claim for secrecy on who funds their front groups. "The reason we don't disclose supporters is because unions have a long history of targeting anyone who opposes them, whether it be in a threatening way or by lodging campaigns against them," she told Detroit Free Press. [3]
The paper reported that while Wal-Mart Stores denied funding the group it stated that "it has a relationship in which it exchanges union information with Berman, the group's head." [4]
- ↑ Phil Hirschkorn and Nancy Cordes, Record Amount of Money Spent on Wisconsin Recall, "CBS News", June 7, 2012, accessed July 2, 2014.
- ↑ Josh Eidelson, Union Buster Joins Wisconsin Recall Fight, "Salon", March 7, 2012, accessed July 2, 2014
- ↑ Josh Eidelson, Union Buster Joins Wisconsin Recall Fight, "Salon", March 7, 2012, accessed July 2, 2014
- ↑ Center for Union Facts, 2011 990 IRS Form, organizational document, accessed May 8, 2013
- ↑ Brendan Fisher, Bradley Foundation Bankrolled Groups Pushing Back on Scott Walker John Doe Criminal Probe, "PRWatch", June 19, 2014, accessed July 2, 2014.
