CREATED 11/4/2010
WARNING:
This site deals only with the corporate corruption of science, and makes no inference about the motives or activities of individuals involved.
There are many reasons why individuals become embroiled in corporate corruption activities - from political zealotry to over-enthusiastic activism; from gullibility to greed.
Please read the OVERVIEW carefully, and make up your own mind.
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OPINION ONLY
Coalition of Labor Union Women
(CLUW) — A labor organisation that appears to have had a you-scratch-my-back deal with the Tobacco Institute. They were given extraordinary help with their public relations campaigns in return for support on the workplace smoking issue. — A labor-oriented grassroots organisation that became a major ally of the tobacco industry, supporting it in many ways . . . and for largely un-explained reasons.
The Tobacco Institute's deal with the CLUW seems to have been one of quid-pro-quo, which was conducted through both Ogilvy & Mather (contract PR company for the Tobacco Institute) and through James Savarese & Associates. Savarese was an ex-union employee/lobbyist who had set up on his own to work for the tobacco industry, but also contracted through Ogilvy & Mather for labor influence projects. He also ran cash-for-comments networks with academic economists, law professors, marketing and advertising academics — most in association with Professor Robert Tollison from George Mason University. See cash-for-comments academic economists. In return for helping the Tobacco Institute to block workplace smoking bans, the CLUW was given professional PR help from both Ogilvy & Mather and James Savarese to run its own crusades.
Some key documents 1988 Dec 1: James Savarese reports to Susan Stuntz at the Tobacco Institute for activites during November (for himself and his employee, Leslie Dawson). His consultancy is specialising in coopting labor and economists, and countering the next Surgeon General's report. - met with officials of the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) to discuss tax strategy.
- continued discussion with Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) re national convention
- continued work with National Energy Management Institute (NEMI) on development of training program and brochure.
- meetings with Citizens for Tax Justice, Leadership for the New Century, Citizens for Tax Justice, National Economic Commission.
- on the task force for Airline Cabin Air Quality (weekly meetings/ writing op-eds)
He also lists successes he has had with getting economists to plant op-eds on various local newspapers.
- Prof David Saurman - op-ed on Prop 99 with San Jose Mercury News
Also numerous reviews of the Tollison/Wagner book "Smoking and the State".
- Prof Ryan Amacher (Clemson Uni) in The State.
- Joseph Jadlow (Oklahoma State Uni) in Tulsa Tribune.
- Todd Sandler (Iowa State Uni) in Fort Dodge Messenger.
- Robert B Ekelund (Auburn Uni) Montgomery Advertiser.
- Dwight R Lee (Washington Uni) Regulation Magazine.
- Samson Kimenyi (Uni of Mississippi) in Jackson Clarion ledger.
- David ER Gay (Uni of Arkansas) in Arkansas Democrat.
Also attached are the accounts ($114,589 for the Tobacco Industry Labor Management Committee disbursement.  
1989: Tobacco Institute: Susan Stuntz "The Plan" for countering public-smoking ban hearings. She writes under "Action Neeeded":
To place the ETS issue in the broader context of indoor air quality.
Gray Robertson, ACVA Atlantic, Inc. is ready and willing. He should be a part of continued private briefings with Congressional staff.
Frank Powell, Director of Engineering for the National Energy Management Institute, is available to brief Congressional staff and members on ventilation standards and indoor air quality issues. He also is available to testify at hearings as appropriate. Briefings and testimony may include use of two videos on indoor air quality, one featuring Sheet Metal Workers union president Ed Carlough; one produced by the Service Employees International Union. [Both videos produced with tobacco industry money under Tobacco Institute control.] Also representives from the AFL-CIO and other unions and: Representatives from several liberal/labor groups have been briefed on this issue and are willing to write letters, sponsor briefings with members of Congress and, if appropriate, to testify. These include:
- New Populist Forum
- Coalition of Labor Union Women
- Labor Council for Latin American Advancement
- A. Philip Randolph Institute
She also writes under the heading "Action needed"
Testimony as to economic impact can be delivered with a liberal labor slant, or from the conservative corporate view. On the former, we have in the past obtained the sponsorship of the AFL-CIO, or of member unions; Jim Savarese is the witness.
For the conservative corporate side, Bob Tollison presents the study. If and when testimony is to be given, we will need a judgment from Federal Relations as to whether we should seek labor sponsorship.
1990: A paper outlining the Tobacco Institute's successes in countering Federal Excise Tax (FET). They claim that the success-rate increases in proporation to the number of its coalitions it can form. [Allowing the Tobacco Institute to keep out of the picture.] One example is the value of the CLUW: The Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) released its study, "Women and Children First: An Analysis of Federal Tax Policy." The study examines the impact of excise, sales, income and payroll taxes on working women. It found consumer excises to be the most burdensome of such taxes.
News of the study's release was broadcast as the lead story on the Cable News Network through the day of the event; the Financial News Network also reported on the CLUW study release for several days. The major wire services also covered the press conference and ran the story. A video news release on the CLUW study was prepared and transmitted.
An executive summary based on the study was prepared and distributed with other press materials. An op-ed has been forwarded to major newspapers; it also will be sent to smaller papers by a matte service. A brochure based on the study is being prepared.
CLUW distributed the study to all members of Congress with a transmittal letter explaining how regressive tax measures adversely affect working women.
1993 March: The Tobacco Institute files contain a (corrected) draft of a press release "Survey of Union Members Reveals Solid Support for Abortion Rights." This is one in a bundle of documents in various stages of production, for the CLUW. Savarese's company is certainly doing this work as a quid-pro-quo for their support in opposing smoking bans.
The survey documents deal mainly with attitudes to abortion, and specifically the use of the abortion pill RU486 [Remember that smoking was a believed to have synergistic detrimental health effect when used with the contraceptive pill — so the tobacco industry was vaguely in favor of RU486]
Also included in the bundle is a February 9 1993 memo from Ogilvy Adams & Rinehart [after a merger and name change] dealing with the CLUW National Executive Board Meeting that had been attended by Jennifer Foster. It reports that she had been helping the national president, Joyce Miller, with radio, TV and newspaper interviews.
In effect, she is acting as an un-paid PR support staff for the CLUW, and she reports on this to the Tobacco Institute as part of her contracted services.
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WORTH READING
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