APRI (Tob. Index)

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This entry is divided
Part 1: General Overview
Part 2: This page: Document Timeline





Tobaccospin.jpg

This article is part of the Tobacco portal on Sourcewatch funded from 2006 - 2009 by the American Legacy Foundation.

A Philip Randolph Institute

The tobacco industry in the USA ran a network of cash-for-comments academic economists, and the A Philip Randolph Institute appears to have become entangled with this lobbying effort, but with the different slant of involving working-class peoples of color. Those involved in the cash-for-comments network were mainly Public Choice (neo-con) academics at major universities in each State, who were paid to promote the "retrogressive cigarette taxes" line.

Like many ideas of economic factions, this retrogressive concept has some superficial attraction to the economically unsophisticated -- but it doesn't stand up to analysis in any depth. The concept of a retrogressive cigarette tax completely ignores the fact that, in most cases, such taxes supplemented the health and welfare funds available to the States and to the Federal Government.

Higher cigarette taxes also stopped more young people from becoming addicted, and the higher prices induced cash-limited smokers to cut back or even to stop smoking. The clear improvements in health, the funding of better welfare services, and the reduction in day-to-day living costs, are far more significant to the finances of working class families than they are to the wealthy. So, far from being retrogressive, such taxes were highly supportive of the lower paid workers and the minorities.

However the tobacco industry very cleverly played up the idea that any increase in cigarette taxes were a deliberate and direct attack by a callous-government on the down-trodden labor-force, and particularly on Afro-Americans and Hispanics.

The A Philip Randolph Institute was one of the main contractors to the tobacco industry which received payments to generate this form of political lobbying.


The A Philip Randolph Institute (APRI) is an organization of African-American trade unionists established in 1965 by the late Civil Rights and labor leaders, A Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin.

Randolph (1889-1979) was the greatest black labor leader "in American history and the father of the modem American civil rights movement. Rustin (1912-1987), a leading civil rights and labor activist and strategist, was the chief organizer of the historic 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and Randolph's greatest protege.

Randolph and Rustin forged an alliance between the civil rights movement and the labor movement. They recognized that blacks and working people of all colors share the same goals: political and social freedom and economic justice.

This Black-Labor Alliance helped the civil rights movement achieve one of its greatest victories -- passage of the Voting Rights Act, which removed the last remaining legal barriers to broad black political participation.Inspired by this success, Randolph and Rustin founded APRI in 1965 to continue the struggle for social, political and economic justice for all working Americans.

Today, APRl is led by President Norman Hill, who served as Executive Director under the two founders, and Chairman Leon Lynch, International Vice President for the United Steelworkers of America.

Rationale

The A Philip Randolph Institute appears to have been brought into the tobacco industry's circle of friends by the efforts of a group of economists, led by James Savarese (originally of both Ogilvy & Mather, and later James Savarese & Associates).

The propaganda line that proved to be most convincing with the labor unions, was the claim made by compliant economists that cigarette excise taxes were retrogressive (had a greater impact on the poor, rather than the rich) and therefore any increase in price constituted a form of attack on the working class.

The tobacco industry also promoted a more general line that workers were disadvantaged by their employers when cost-saving air ventilation exchange measures (following the first energy crisis) since this lowered the quality of air in an office and workshop. Of course they completely ignoring the contribution of tobacco smoke to that environment.

Documents & Dates

1987 Oct 26 Norman Hill, National President is writing to Congressmen supporting the AFL-CIO's position on excise taxes. There is no evidence that the APRI or Norman Hill was being paid for this, except that the copies of all his letters written at this time were in the Tobacco Institute files. He wrote to Congressmen, Editor of the Washington Post, etc. at this time. [1] [2]

1987 Dec 9 Norman Hill, National President writing in support of the tobacco industry over excise. [3]

1988 Feb Tobacco Institute's Public Affairs division - Progress Report from Peter Sparber.

The presidents of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, the A. Philip Randolph Institute and the Coalition of Labor Union Women, which represent Hispanic, black and women trade union members, respectively, agreed to sponsor the tobacco industry Labor Management Committee presentations on indoor air quality at their regional and national conferences over the next year.

[4]

1988 Mar James Savarese and Ogilvy & Mather are attacking the National Economic Council (NEC) on behalf of the tobacco industry -- to influence it against cigarette excise taxes. A tactical outline paper says:

In general, the leaders of our coalition groups do not have personal ties to the members of the commission. It is our view that we cannot expect these individuals to be able to approach NEC members through informal, back-door methods.

On the other hand, these groups have dealt with some of the members on an institutional basis. For example, the American Agriculture Movement (AAM) has worked with some commission members or their staffs, including Moynihan, Gray and Strauss. Similarly, the Coalition on Human Needs has worked extensively with Bill Gray's staff and has worked with the Congressman on several issues. These groups are best used as part of a broader strategy aimed at creating an anti-excise tax environment that will demonstrate to the commission members the broad base of opposition to any excise tax increase.

Activities can include studies, press events, testimony, and op-eds from: Citizens for Tax Justice; American Agriculture Movement; Labor Council for Latin American Advancement; A. Philip Randolph Institute; Coalition on Human Needs; Coalition of Labor Union Women; Corporation for Enterprise Development;

They then list individuals who have contacts with key Commission members or their staff.

David Mathiasen has been named executive director of the commission. He is a low-key, non-ideological career OMB staffer. He gets along well with Jim Miller, with whom we have contact. Bob Tollison also knows him fairly well.

http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/ipi38b00/pdf

1988 Apr /E Speech made by Tobacco Institute executive (probably Sam Chilcote) to his Executive Committee. He explains the TI's close relationship with the union movement.

Today, the Institute-works closely, not only with the BC&T (Bakery Confectionary & Tobacco workers union), but with a host of AFL-CIO union on critical legislative initiatives. The relationship has developed to the point where the Institute is one of the only outside groups welcome at the AFL-CIO Executive Council meetings. I can go to these meetings and get business accomplished for the industry and the Institute. To build this coalition and design a strategy for the Committee, we turned to cadre of outside labor consultants. We recognized that the Institute lacked the internal labor expertise necessary to move forward on this project.
(The cadre was contracted through Ogilvy & Mather)

  • James (Jim) Savarese: Jim has 10 years of experience with the public employee union AFSCME, first as Director of Public Policy and then as Executive Assistant to the President.
  • John Jarvis: John is President of The Jarvis Company; a Washington based lobbying firm. He was previously Legislative Director of the United Mine Workers for 6 years.
  • Mike Forscey: Mike served as associate general counsel to the Machinists, then as general counsel to the Senate Labor Committee under Senator Kennedy.
  • Leslie Dawson; Leslie has 10 years of legislative and political experience in Texas and Washington. She most recently worked as Labor Liaison for Congress Charles Wilson of Texas.
  • Richard Marcus: Richard is an attorney with legislative experience in both the U.S. House and Senate.
  • Tom Donahue: Tom has served as a staff assistant to Senator Kennedy as well an assistant to the International President of the Bricklayers Union. Tom is also the son of AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Thomas R. Donahue.
  • Harry Kaiser: Harry served as Press Secretary and Special Assistant to the Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur of Ohio for six years. Prior to that, he was a staff assistant at the Food and Allied Service Trades Department, AFL-CIO.
  • Wes Lane: Wes has recently been hired as a labor lobbyist in Minnesota. He is with the Teamsters Union and serves as Director of the DRIVE (the Teamsters PAC).

The TI sought the assistance of

The TI also funded the

  • AFL-CIO advertising campaign in July 1987.
  • Sheet Metal Workers Intl Assn. which "launched a nationwide program in support of proper building ventilation -- the only legitimate way of cleaning up the air in most workplace." (with ACVA/Gray Robertson)
  • NEMI which is "is a national, non-profit corporation sponsored by the Sheet Metal Workers Union and the Sheet Metal - and Air Conditioning Contractors' National Association."
    • It is been virtually the industry's sole weapon in trying to overturn the Beverly Hills smoking plan.
    • The Institute has provided major funding for NEMI (in training) and travel for promotion of NEMI as a resource.

They also have new alliances with:

and are working on the Flight Attendants' Union over airline smoking bans. http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/ejn04b00/pdf

1988 Apr /E Peter Sparber has made a boasting speech to Philip Morris executives about the activities of his Issues Management section of the Tobacco Institute. He praises the Philip Morris Corporate Affairs Division for their Operation Downunder brainstorming and projects.

On the broader issue of Indoor Air Quality we have a lot to say. We have good people to say it... and we get excellent results.

Let me share some examples produced by a group of consultants and staff we call our "Truth Squad." (Run media videotape)

Our big gun these past few years has been Gray Robertson, the last person you just saw. Last year Gray toured media in 34 markets and conducted more than 320 interviews.

Also the memo talks about their influence over labor and the unions via the Labor Management Committee and NEMI.

Our greatest ally on Indoor Air Quality is organized labor... In particular, the tobacco industry Labor Management Committee, which we organized, including ourselves and five international unions with tobacco manufacturing contracts. With the Committee's backing,

  • the Executive Council of the AFL-CIO passed a resolution encouraging labor to push for better ventilation in workplaces...
  • The Service Employees International Union -- the fastest growing union in the AFL-CIO -- commissioned Gray Robertson to examine five state office buildings in Maine and New Hampshire, and will push for legislation this year establishing ventilation standards in those states.
  • The Massachusetts State Labor Federation passed a resolution calling for more attention to indoor air standards. It is a legislative priority this year.
  • AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland personally appealed to the Washington, DC City Council to reject workplace restrictions. The result... workplace was pulled from the ordinance.
  • The Coalition Of Labor Union Women; the Labor Council For Latin American Advancement; and the A. Philip Randolph Institute (which represents black union members) all have launched programs to educate their members on the true nature of Indoor Air Quality.
  • In Washington State a few months back... labor objections to a public smoking bill are credited with killing it.
  • Some of our best support has come from Ed Carlough, President of the Sheet Metal Workers International Union (And so) I'd like to share with you a videotape... now in use by more than 300 national, state and local labor groups across the US. This is a shortened version. (Carlough/Gray videotape)
  • In cooperation with the Association of Ventilation Contractors, the sheet metal workers have formed the National Energy Management Institute... or "NEMI" as it is called. Already...
    • One "NEMI" official... who sat on a National Academy of Sciences panel investigating Indoor Air Quality got ETS placed in a reasonable context.
    • "NEMI" officials defended our interests at the recent policy forum on indoor air sponsored by the EPA and the National Council for Clean Indoor Air... and attended by an army of anti-smokers.
    • After Beverly Hills (Council) backed down on its restaurant ban, "NEMI" worked with TI staff and the local restaurant association to devise ventilation standards as an alternative.
    • NEMI has nearly finished training some 200 union contractors through its seven regional offices to conduct air quality audits much the same as those conducted by Gray Robertson. (eg discounting ETS)
    • To market this program NEMI now publishes a quarterly newsletter mailed quarterly to its contractors for use with their customers. (Paid by tobacco)
    Overall... this work with "NEMI" not only clones Gray Robertson but gives us a strong, local presence and moves us ahead much faster.

http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/nnb40c00/pdf

The Washingtonian Magazine story was published March 1988. The report Appendix outlines work being done for the Tobacco Institute by Gray Robertson and his staff at ACVA. It also discusses NEMI and its influence over the unions through AFL-CIO http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/xrs62f00/pdf

1989 Scientific Witnesses for IAQ inquiry by the 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.

(Note: Both videos were 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:

http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/iyp56b00/pdf

1989 Jan A resolution passed (presumably) by the APRI (it is printed on their letterhead) says:

  • WHEREAS, Scientific studies of the hazards of indoor air pollution are raising growing concerns about the quality of air breathed by millions of workers, and
  • WHEREAS, AFL-CIO unions representing white-collar and service industry workers have documented employee health problems linked to indoor air contamination, ranging from chronic respiratory ailments, headaches and fatigue to life- threatening illnesses, and
  • WHEREAS, the circulation of known contaminants including bacteria, viruses, and allergy-causing fungi can be directly linked to poorly designed, maintained and inadequate ventilation system and
  • WHEREAS, this resolution is consistent with AFL-CIO policy on safe indoor air quality,
  • THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that APRI calls upon all industry and government officials responsible for health and safety in the workplace to recognize that identification of pollutants, cleaning and replacement of poor ventilation systems, and building modifications to provide an adequate supply of fresh air are essential to assure all workers a safe job site,

(Note the absence of tobacco smoke among the list of 'known contaminants' )

This was a tobacco industry ploy to blame indoor air quality on poor quality air conditioning. The APRI also wanted ventilation systems checked by qualified union contractors (ie members of the NEMI) http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/ahi44b00/pdf

1989 Jan 4 Susan Stuntz to Debbie Schoonmaker about the need to review support for some coalition groups and those associated with Ogilvy & Mather and Jim Savarese. She lists current payments and is looking for reductions in cost:

  • Citizens for Tax Justice - $6,000 a month. "I would propose returning to the $5,000 contribution, unless there's a reason to do otherwise."
  • Coalition on Human Needs - $4,000 a month
  • LCLAA - $2,000 a month. "I would like to find a way to either reduce our support, or identify opportunities to increase their support to our projects."
  • APRI (A Philip Randolph Inst) - $10,000 a year
  • CLUW (Labor Union Women) - $10,000 a year
  • Leadership 2000/New Century - $2,500 a month. "I would propose significant reductions unless we can be assured that the organization is on track and meeting its original commitments."
  • Minnesota CTJ has been paid $2,000 but not delivered.
  • David Wilhelm - $4,000 a month. "That contribution will be redirected in the future to WLK Associates. I would propose reducing it to $2,500 until and unless Wilhelm and Lux begin providing us with regular reports of activities. "
  • American Family Farm Foundation - $5,000. "We will need to meet soon with Dave Senter concerning support of AAM projects by O&M."

http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/hah93b00/pdf

1989 Dec 7 The Tobacco Institute's Public Affairs Division report for the Board of Directors. Re: their plans to combat excise taxes:

See Document for APRI data.

http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/xyp78b00/pdf

1990 Mar 9 The Tobacco Institute newsletter "Executive Summary" contains an item:

Healthy Buildings International this week conducted an indoor air quality investigation at the headquarters of United Food & Commercial Workers Local 324 in Buena Park, California.

The Labor Management Committee offered the investigation after indoor air quality complaints from union members prompted introduction of anti-smoking legislation in the Buena Park City CounciL

Labor Management Committee representatives will conduct an indoor air quality presentation next week at the A. Philip Randolph Institute western regional conference in San Diego. Approximately 100 delegates from a number of unions are expected to attend.

http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/vlc58b00/pdf

1990 Apr 30 Correspondence between Carol Hyrcaj at the Tobacco Institute, and 'Beth' Bring (Ogilvy & Mather PR) They both must have been working with James Savarese, through the Labor Management Committee 9lmc0.

They are 'Repackaging 1989 materials using 1990 issues." This is a 21 page document which lists activities with all the standard LMC influence organizations:

They also refer to some of their disinformation projects -- National Economic Council (NEC); Southwestern Social Science Association; Price Waterhouse (economic survey); National Hispanic Leadership Conference; Leadership for the New Century (Wilhelm think-tank); Illinois Rainbow Coalition http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/mjk19a00

1990 May 17 The Tobacco Institute with its new computers is churning out hundreds of letters to Congressmen on APRI letter-head. They are all to be signed by Norman Hill. They oppose cigarette excise tax increases. http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/cfx20g00/pdf

1990 Jun 30 /E Carol Hryjac's report on Excise Tax operations for the Tobacco Institute describes their many projects with:

  • David Senter and the American Agriculture Movement (AAM) media tours,
  • the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW),
  • the AFL-CIO and other union.agricultural-associated activities:
  • The League of Rural Voters (LRV) has requested Institute support to produce a general informational brochure.
  • The National Chamber Foundation's (NCF) "working paper" on excise taxes prepared by economist Richard Vedder.
  • A fair tax resolution has been drafted for the National Council of Senior Citizens (NCSC)
  • David Wilhelm of the Strategy Group gave a presentation on the tax issue at a meeting of the A. Philip Randolph Institute. Wilhelm discussed the impact of regressive tax policy on low- and middle-income workers and reiterated the AFL-CIO's stance on tax policy.
  • The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) continued to contribute to the economic/tax policy debate with the release of a paper on capital gains. The EPI paper has been distributed to the media and other interests.
  • At State Activities' request, consulting economist Dwight Lee testified before the Delaware legislature on a proposed cigarette excise tax increase. The measure under consideration would raise the tax to pay for indigent care.

http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/atz72f00/pdf

1991 Jan 25 Norman Hill was at a Tobacco Industry Labor Management Committee meeting in Washington, representing the Institute. Jim Savarese ran the meeting. http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/krp86d00/pdf

1992 Sep A Tobacco Institute Public Affairs Management Plan Progress Report report lists the A Philip Randolph Institute as a helper in the "Production Services" area . http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/trv98b00/pdf

1992 Oct TI. Budget $20,000 - 2046847184 p 4-40 for Labor project See work with Labor Management Group (LMG)

1992 Oct 15 Memo from James Carey and Richard Marcus (OA&R) to Martin Gleason at the Tobacco Institute.

Status Report on Open Seats Project

The intent of this memo is to update you on progress of the Open Seat project in the past three months.

As we agreed, the goals of the program are to educate potential new Members of Congress about the need for a fair tax system, to position Labor Management Committee (LMC) allies as credible resources on the fair tax issue and to encourage new Members of Congress to support a progressive tax system.
(As distinct from relying on excise taxes to boost the budget.)

We established these goals in the context of the record number of resignations and retirements in Congress this year. We estimate there are 91 House seats to be filled by Open Seats candidates, and believed it was important to reach these new Members with our message as they develop their positions to carry to Washington.

While many of the candidates have been exposed to elements of the tax issue, the, most. effective way to educate the potential Members of Congress and to reinforce our specific messages is by orchestrating this communication through allies not directly tied to the issue.
(Using lobbyists not openly employeed by the tobacco industry.)

In the past several months, we have enlisted a number of coalition groups, consultants and political allies to serve as third party spokespeople to deliver our messages directly to the Open Seats candidates. These allies represent women and labor interests, grass roots organizations and other diverse groups. Through mailings, meetings, briefings and similar activities, these allies have been delivering our messages on fair and progressive taxes and effectively arguing why excise taxes are a burden to specific segments of the population.

This surreptitious effort was directed mainly at the new safe-seat Democratic party members who would soon be elected to Congress.

A primary avenue of communication has been to mail the Open Seats candidates fair tax material from a diverse number of coalition groups.

State LMC consultants had also been meeeting the potential new state representatives.

Regarding the activities of this organisation:

A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI) President Norm Hill sent a.letter and a copy of a recent study of the burden of excise taxes on African Americans. The study was sent to African American Open Seats candidates and to candidates in African American districts.

http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/wjy28b00/pdf

1992 Oct 27 Susan Stuntz at the Tobacco Institute faxes Peter Harris (TI video producer) and also Mike Forscey at Wunder Diefenderfer (lawyer for Labor Management Committee). She is giving her opinion of the status of various projects to Marty Gleason (TI Issues Manager) (initially)

  • Open Seats project -- LNC and NCSC (National Council for Senior Citizens) mailings -- (Richard) Marcus and (Jim) Carey. She had a meeting with Jim Carey and Leslie Dawson

    After reviewing the October 15 status memo from Marcus and Carey, I sent it back with extensive edits, requests for clarification, and word changes.

The first was to correct additional typos. New ones are present in the rewritten version, but on that I give up.

In terms of clarification, there were references made to results that have been accomplished up to now which had not been reported to me. Whether the lapse occurred at OA&R or at TI is not something I tried to determine. Rather, I wanted to know what the results were so that I could report them promptly to SDC and Lewis, and to the companies, as had been requested at the last tax meeting.

In terms of word changes, I was extremely concerned with the phrasing of the memo in terms of how it might appear to an outsider.... or a newspaper.... or the anti-smoking community. Greater care simply must be taken to ensure that memoranda are complete, yet minimize the potential for damage to the coalition groups should documents get out.

Having cleaned that up, and having heard nothing all week in terms of progress, Cal and I requested a meeting today which Jim Carey and Leslie Dawson attended. Very little additional progress had been made, largely because the assignment is so massive and unmanageable so as to create gridlock within the agency.

So, I broke the assignment into smaller, more manageable pieces in the hopes that we would at least have something to report at Tuesday's tax meeting (it is embarrassing, to say the least, that two weeks will have gone by yet again with no report to the companies. I will personally take on the assignment of briefing them regularly to ensure that no further embarrassment occurs).

  1. Our first priority is to seek the fullest possible reports from those individuals and organizations over whom we have the most control. These are the LMC (Labor Management Committee) consultants, whom we pay and who should be able to get the most complete reports on candidates1 positions on tobacco excise taxes, and David Senter of AAM, who is seeking a continuing relationship with us now that he has left AAM. (American Agricultural Movement) Ogilvy will follow up with each of these and report back by phone on results. We will no longer expect lengthy memoranda on each contact. Those notes will either be reported verbally or in memo form to me within 30 minutes of having been received by the agency. By 5 p.m. on Monday, we should have reports on meetings (containing more information than "is supportive of our position on progressive tax policy"), hopefully from each LMC consultant.
  2. Our second priority will be to follow-up on APRI (A Philip Randlolph Institute) and LCLAA (Labor Council for Latin American Advancement) contacts and, in some cases, Citizen Action. Leadership for the New Century it became clear today, had no business being put on an "intensive education" list, as their education consisted of being able to mail newsletters to the candidates and having hosted the candidate at a briefing held earlier in the campaign. They do not have the personnel to be able to reach out directly to any candidate. Similarly, in some instances, Citizen Action had no business being included on the "intensive education" list.

http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/ipb67b00/pdf

1992 Nov 9 After the first Clinton Presidency election, Norm Hill of the APRI was activiely working for the Tobacco Institute in contacting campaign managers and reporting on candidate attitudes. http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/stp04b00/pdf

1993 Susan Stuntz has allocated budget figures for the Scientific Affairs section of the Public Affairs Division of the Tobacco Institute. She allows:

  • Professional Fees.
    • $450,000 for ventilation consultant fees and expenses
    • $150,000 for literature reviews and critiques
    • $100,000 for participation in scientific conferences
    • $25,000 for air quality testing by ENV Services
    • $850,000 for OSHA Sumissions/Presentations
    • $1.03 million general EPA Activities
    • $250,000 Completion and promotion of Lieberman/Uni of Pittsburgh project (to detect bias in ETS scienfic research) -- scientific publications, media tours, conferences, presentations. etc.
  • Coalition PR counsel
  • Economic Consultants (op-eds, book tours, etc. $100,000
  • Labor Management Committee
    • grants (CTJ, EPI, CHN. NCSC, etc $500,000 app.
    • Citizens Action program in targeted states $120,000
    • American Agricultural Movement $108,000
    • CART $30,000
  • Tri Data Inc. Fire safety etc.
  • Labor Management Committee counsel
    • The Strategy Group $300,000
    • Ogilvy Adams & Rinehart $225,000
    • James Savarese & Assco $175,000
    • The Jarvis Company $140,000,
    • Misc APRI, CLUW, LCLAA, $250,000
    • NEMI $1 million
    • Safe Workplace Air Coalition seminars $50,000
    • BCIA $128,000

http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/ftc93b00/pdf

1993 Oct Towards the end of this year there was a reorganisation of the Tobacco Institute where:

  • The overall TI budget was proposed to be cut by 61%, from $38,925,000 down to $15,000,000
  • 38 staff positions were to be eliminated.
  • 34 staff were to be fired (15 professional and 19 support staff) -- $2m in termination costs.
  • Close all field offices -- terminate 5 Regional VPs
  • Freeze all salary reviews
  • Eliminate the Public Affairs and Federal Relations divisions and merge the remaining staff into Issues Management

Support for the Labor Management Committee coalitions was also cut.

http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/olb97h00/pdf

1993 Oct 14 Susan Stuntz has been required to justify the Labor Management Committee in a very formal report to Sam Chilcote, President of the Tobacco Institute. She has filled 14 pages with terse anecdotes of their activities. She praises:

  • Washington State LMC consultant and the Citizen Action group.
  • NEMI activities in California and in advising the OSHA on workplace air standards. (Cost is $780,000)
  • Lobbying successes by LMC consultants in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan including Citizens for Tax Justice and the AFL-CIO.
  • The NSCS which has blocked the AARP from taking an anti-tobacco position.

Last weekend when DNC Chairman David Wilhelm "took the gloves off' against special interest groups including the National Rifle Association, the health insurance industry and Citizens for a Sound Economy... the tobacco industry was notable for its absence.

She explains the roles played by various consulting companies:

  • The Strategy Group which is run by DNC chairman, David Wilhelm, helps them lobby in many states.
  • Ogilvy Adams and Rinehart provides all of the general public relations support to the national fair tax and IAQ groups, promotes allies' work and ensures prompt delivery of these same materials to the state consultants so they are available for their use.
  • Savarese & Associates, as executive director of the LMC, is chiefly responsible for keeping the unions on the LMC and The Institute informed of activity and ensuring consensus. He also is responsible for Citizens for Tax Justice and Economic Policy Institute activities and is the principal individual who reaches out to public employee unions in the states and localities.
  • The Jarvis Company acts as lobbyist for the LMC - both on Capitol Hill and within the AFL-CIO.
  • The state consultants are self-explanatory. These consultants receive a flat fee - ranging from $2,500 to $5,000/year. They have been retained for states that have large labor populations, or in states where liberal/labor connections were considered by State Activities -- and by the unions on the LMC -- to be of special value in legislative and regulatory matters.
  • Citizens for Tax Justice receives $130,000 in annual support. These funds have allowed them to bring on coordinators to handle studies of the tax structures in the 50 states, and to produce state-specific tax studies as well. CTJ also, as you know, is the chief spokesman for the labor movement on tax policy. Director Bob Mclntyre also is a regular source for comment from reporters and frequent contributor to newspaper op-eds. In addition, $60,000 is budgeted for a federal lobbyist for CTJ and for federal health care reform analyses. While the LMC is a major contributor to CTJ, it is by no means the largest and in fact the organization will survive without us. Its two chief contributors are SEIU and AFSCME. Without the LMC, CTJ simply will speak out less on cigarette taxes
  • The Economic Policy Institute received $60,000 in annual support. EPI is another tax policy group - but more of a think tank than CTJ. It produces a variety of research materials on various economic matters. This year it produced and promoted an analysis of the current health care system - and its regressivity. In addition, $75,000 is budgeted for EPI next year to use the model it developed this year to analyze the impact of the Clinton health care plan.
  • Citizen Action receives $150,000 in general support (plus $90,000 for a conference). It also acts as the policy guide for all of its state affiliates on health care issues which means that all of the state Citizen Action groups have actively opposed regressive excise taxes for health care reform. Citizen Action's legislative director (Cathy Hurwit) is a willing participant in fair tax briefings and conferences at which the LMC identifies the opportunity.
  • The National Council of Senior Citizens receives ($20,000 for a conference and) $95,000 in general support - which is sent directly to its affiliates in New York, California and Florida. At the national level, NCSC acts as an effective block in the seniors community to AARP and most recently has succeeded in persuading AARP that cigarette taxes are an unstable and regressive revenue source over time.
  • The Coalition on Human Needs receives $48,000 in general support and the Progressive Political Education Fund $30,000. These groups have taken positions in opposition to regressive excise taxes -- CHH in its lobbying materials for its activists on Capitol Hill and PPEF in its newsletters and outreach materials to state legislators. PPEF is working with Sen. Conrad now to identify progressive financing alternatives for health care reform.

(Many more are identified here including LCLAA ($30k), APRI ($24k), CLUW ($24k), NCL ($24k)) Among allies in the National Tax Area:

The A. Philip Randolph Institute receives $24,000 and has produced materials on tax policy and African Americans. It maintains contact with Congressional Black Caucus members. In Michigan right now, the LMC is working to involve the very active APRI chapter there in the tax fight.

http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/jhu49b00/pdf

1993 Oct 17 In the 1993 budget, the APRI was to receive $20,000 per year from the Tobacco Institute. http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/cka12a00/pdf

1994 /E Norman Hill's testimony before the House Committee on Ways and Means walks a narrow tightrope between supporting the tobacco industry and expressing enthusiastic support for President Clinton's health-care proposals. He just attacks excise taxes on cigarettes as "regressive" which is the standard safe line for any tobacco lobbyist operating in Democratic circles. http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/lzs76d00/pdf He claims that the APRI has two million members.

1994 Apr The Tobacco Institute passed checks through the Labor Management Committee for the APRI. The APRI budget for this year was $15,000 The April check was for $5,000 (the second of three) http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/vjq04b00/pdf

1994 Apr 28 Jim Savarese reported to Walter Woodson at the Tobacco Institute about the activities of the Labor Management Group from November 1993 - to April 1994
(Which suggests that a major change was happening at TI)

He divides his report into four sections.

  1. Federal Taxes/Health Care
    • Kentucky State AFL-CIO President Robert Curtis testified for them at House Ways & Means Committee on health care reform package
    • Press conference in Washington where a group of Southern State AFL-CIO Presidents denounced excise tax increases
    • Citizen Action testified at Congressional hearings that tobacco taxes are regressive
    • Citizens for Tax Justice report that excise tax increases would wipe out the 1993 earned-income tax credits.
    • Lobbying of President Clinton and Democratic National Committee by Frank Hurt, President of LMC and BC&T union.
    • Assisted seven large tobacco local unions to come to Washington to target House Ways & Means Committee.
    • Organised A Philip Randolph Institute, LCLAA and CLUW to lobby Congress.
  2. State Taxes/Health Care
    • Helped in excise tax fight in Michigan. Organised state AFL-CIO and UAW (United Auto Workers) mailings.
    • Worked closely with The Strategy Group in developing media contacts for Citizens of Tax Justice. The Strategy Group organised CTJ interviews.
  3. Federal Indoor Air Quality/OSHA
    • LMC/NEMI has developed a working relationship with US Department of Labor and the OSHA. NEMI officials met several times with OSHA Administrator Joe Dear and key OSHA staff over adopting IAQ standard rather than regulating tobacco smoke.
    • Also influenced AFL-CIO to communicate support for 'system-based' regulation to OSHA rather than "source regulation" (smoking prohibition)
    • Also influenced AFL-CIO views relating to restaurants and bars.
    • Opposed Henry Waxman's Smoke-Free Environment Act of 1993 via testimony from BC&T, SMWIA and NEMI.
    • National AFL-CIO also offered support in writing.
  4. State Indoor Air Quality/OSHA
    • Helped battle workplace smoking restrictions in Maryland and Washington State.
    • Maryland AFL-CIO submitted oral and written testimony before the OSHA advisory board.
    • In Washington the LMC's consultant secured a seat on the state's IAQ advisory committee.

http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/gzm13c00/pdf

1994 May The Labor Management Committee's budget allowance for APRI for the year was $15,000 paid in three $5,000 checks per year. http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/qsh86d00/pdf

1994 Jun 9 Newspaper story "Brewing Company Salutes Black Publishers and Journalists with A Philip Randolph Messenger Awards. " Millers Brewing Co (a Philip Morris subsidiary) is presenting its third annual awards during the 54th National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Conference.

The NNPA is proud to partner with Miller Brewing Company to honor these achievements." said Bob Bogle, president National Newspaper Publishers Association. The awards program offers a SI0.000 prize package. Each of the newspapers that published a winning article will receive a $l.000 donation to the non-profit organization of its choice. The program was established in the memory of A. Philip Randolph. civil rights leader and labor activist. Randolph also was the founder of The Messenger which from 1917 to 19?8 was one of the most respected Black publications in the country.

http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/fts93e00/pdf

1994 Dec 8 Kathleen Linehan (known as 'Buffy' with Philip Morris Corporate Affairs) has left us her hand-notes of a meeting with Robert Curtis (President of LMC), Walter Woodson (PR at TI) , James Savarese, and Mike Forescy (lawyer lobbyist) when they are examining Labor Management Committee project. They discuss:

  • NEMI and the Sheet Metal Union -- costs of recruiting them and Forscey
  • lobbyist Bill Holayter ("what has he done?")
  • Business Council on Indoor Air (BCIA)
    • (Mike) Forscey is legal counsel
    • Peter Sparber $125 -- 3 memberships @ $40,000 each
    • Tom Donahue (testimony) $200K
  • TI legislation
    • Fire-safe cigarettes (Covington)
    • ETS -- Traficanti and Reich ??
    • Waxman hearings witnesses ( Gray Robertson HBI Simon Turner + unions, BCI, NEMI
  • NEMI IAQ Standards group, business makes money sheet metal union - $8 million. Jim Golden
    • grant pays salaries, people do it
    • IAQ analysis
    • state testifying
    • submissions on IAQ rule making to OSHA
  • Labor movement - Machinists + Sheetmetal (and SMCNA contractors), BC&T, Association of Black Farmers (Mattee Mack ?)
  • CTJ/CA (Citizens Action) testifying before Waxman Committee
  • EPI BC&T favourite group (Bakers union)
  • NSCS - labor senior group. AARP, ("Does PM fund?")
    • LALAA/APRI, etc "give to these"
    • Help with AFL ($150K) (probably AFL-CIO)
    • NCL - PM (donation ?) (National Consumers League)
    • AAM - (David) Senter
    (Runs the Agricultural lobby)
  • (Costs)
    • Overhead $8,000 month ($96,000)
    • Savarese special project $5,000 mth = $60,000 (home district contact program)
    • Leslie Dawson - wife of steel workers union (lobbyist for union)
    • Wunder (Forscey's law firm) $180,000
    • (John) Jarvis (lobbyist) $156,000 (The Javis Company)
  • (The) Strategic Group - Kurt Malgren used $200,000.
    • (David) Wilhelm' old group in Chicago - CTJ
    • McIntire, modest statistician -- 5 people in firm
    • (Bruce) Fisher works out of Buffalo "CTJ" (Their quotes)
    • (Harry) Kaiser - Ogilvy; runs his own business ? $760K
    • BC&T (Frank) Hurt -- "good"
    • (Bill) Holyater "federal lobbyist

She is obviously querying Holyater and The Strategy Group's effectiveness.

http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/shx45d00/pdf

1994 Dec 31 The Tobacco Institute's Statement of Disbursements for the LMC for the 1993-94 year show that APRI received regular payments of thousands of dollars from this source alone: http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/jgq04b00/pdf

1995 Aug 16 The APRI comes out publically in support of the tobacco industry when Clinton moved to regulate smoking through the FDA.

Faye Waters, Georgia President of the A Philip Randolph Institute, an organization comprised of African-American trade unionists, is particularly concerned with the plan because of the high number of women and minorities employed In the industry. "As Congress eliminates funding for job retraining, reverses affirmative action and erodes important gains for minorities, future employment opportunities for displaced tobacco workers may be hard to find."

http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/mcg35c00/pdf

1997 The President of the APRI is Norman Hill

1997 Aug 14 The Accounts of the Public Affairs Division of the Tobacco Institute show that they had budgeted for Labor Management Committee costs of $3,132,000 and spent $3,245,000. For 1998 they budgeted $3,324,000. (Full breakdown of payment to individuals here.) http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/dpc13b00/pdf Frank Hurt of the LMC wanted an extra $10,000 for the black A Philip Randolph Institute.

1999 Jan 21 An overview of the Labor Management Committee, probably for the new Executive Committee, boasts that it was organised among the unions concerned with tobacco manufacture (and ventilation).

There are at least two significant reasons why the LMC is so successful.

First, by its very nature the LMC reaches federal, state and local lawmakers who are, by and large, on the liberal/left side of the ledger. The LMC is far and away the industry's most productive contact mechanism with these lawmakers; nothing else comes close. When LMC officials walk into a lawmaker's office they can genuinely say they are representing the views of organized labor -- they are not just tobacco company lobbyists with a labor backgound.

In addition, the LMC works with leading liberal/left labor groups that share the Committee's concerns on issues like tobacco taxes. And while the LMC focus is clearly at the federal level, there are some LMC consultants who reach very effectively into state and local areas.

Second, the LMC helps to ensure that LMC union members' (notably the BC&T and Machinists, as well as the Sheet Metal Workers International Association) voices are heard within labor councils -- nationally, within state labor federations and within locals.

For example, the LMC, through the leadership of the BC&T and Machinists, worked to educate unions and Members of Congress about third-party Taft-Hartley suits against the industry and why those suits threatened U.S. union jobs. As a result, the AFL-CIO ultimately took a neutral position on Senator McCain's tobacco legislation and on the Taft-Hartlcy suits.

The LMC has two excellent full-time federal lobbyists: John Jarvis and George Gould. These two seasoned lobbyists handle the day-to-day federal lobbying needs of the Committee.

In addition, there are other LMC consultants who straddle the federal/state fence: They are Sam Dawson, former political director for the steelworkers, and Tom McNutt, former head of the country's largest UFCW local (located in the Washington metro area).

He also praises Art Carter, Joe Daniels, Chris Scott, Bill Hoylater, Harry Kaiser, Citizens for Tax Justice (David Wilhelm and others), and Tricom.

    The Tobacco Institute has been disbanded as part of the Master Settlement Agreement. All of its underhand lobbying activities were suppose to have ceased. However the LMC continued to be funded in some way.

The new structure was: James Savarese has "semi-retired" and will become a part-time Chairman emeritus, and Walter Woodson (ex TI) would take his place as Executive Director. The LMC counsel, Mike Forscey, was replaced by Peter Kadzik of Dickstein Shapiro. Apparently the LMC staff were now being paid indirectly by the cigarette companies:

Walter Woodson (executive director)$230,000
Harry Kaiser (political director) $216,000
Jim Savarese (Chairman emeritus) $180,000
Secretarial support (two) $ 80,000
Peter Kadzik (legal counsel) $ 15,000
Federal and State consultant lobbyists $593,000
Grants to CTJ, APRI, CLUW, etc $368,000
Total$1.952m

(It was business as usual) http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/ouf05a00/pdf

1999 Apr New Jersey union health funds (led by Carpenters Health Fund) sued Philip Morris and other members of the Tobacco Institute for the LMC deception:

The Allegations and Proof of Specific Representations To and Misconduct Directed Towards Unions and the Funds

Profered also are the particularized allegations of misconduct by the defendants to surreptitiously and falsely attribute the lndustry's positions to organized labor, and to use current and former union officials and representatives (many of whom covertly received Industry payments as "consulting fees" or "grants" ) to:

  1. affirmatively discredit, in statements to other unions and union membcrs, the health warnings and information by legitimate health advocates; and
  2. blunt employer initiatives, including smoking cessation programs and workplace smoking restrictions, to reduce the medical costs paid by the Funds.

They had discovered new evidence. This :

... first began to be revealed when documents were produced on January 28, 1999 in response to a subpoena issued by defendants to a non-party national union, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (the "Carpenters Union" )

With the identification from these records of the Tobacco Industry's public relations firm official, James Savarese of Savarese & Associates, who served as the "Executive Director" of the Tobacco Industry Labor Management Committee (the "TILMC" ), plaintiffs were able ro subpoena and obtain additional documents disclosing the "how" and "who" within the organized labor movement that the Tobacco Industry had manipulated and/or paid to actively frustrate initiatives to reduce smoking among union members.

This new information also assisted the Funds in identifying new relevant documents from the approximately 30 million records deposited to the "Minnesota repository" in connection with litigation brought against the Tobacco industry by the Attorney General of Minnesota.

Finally, on or about March 30, 1999 plaintiffs received videotapes of Tobacco Institute media events shown, inter alia, in New Jersey, as a result of hard fought discovery motions in Fund litigation in Kentucky.

Re: the new documentary exhibits (including Exs. 24, 27, 29, 31 and 32 produced by Savarese and Associates)

These exhibits show that. contrary to the arguments by defendants to the Third Circuit, the Funds and their union and employer trustees, were not merely passive recipients of health misinformation distributed generally to the public.

Organized labor and union officials were actively recruited as soldiers in defendants' battle to insulate their products from legitimate health information and health advocates, and were manipulated to undercut the actual, on-going efforts of employers to reduce the Funds' medical costs attributable to smoking.

As the Tobacco Institute, the principal public spokesman for the major tobacco manufacturers, described:

    "Organized labor plays a significant role in almost every Institute program underway or proposed" (Ex. 12)

. The Institute used the unions enlisted into the TILMC to frustrate workplace smoking restrictions by. (inter alia)

    "Discouraging liberal and labor coalitions from taking anti-tobacco positions," and "Building support for Industry positions through the labor movement." (Ex. 14)

It accomplished these ends by

  • using the TILMC unions to publicly and selectively discredit the Surgeon General reports on the dangers of passive smoke at the workplace;
  • to widely circulate among other unions collective bargaining "kits" that were secretly developed by the Tobacco Industry,
  • (circulate kits) that undercut the Surgeon General's warnings
  • exhorted unions to adhere to AFL-CIO pro-smoking position statements (also written by the Tobacco Industry and its agents) to oppose employer initiatives to reduce smoking;
  • to organize union-boycotts of legitimate health seminars on smoking. (Exs. 14, 19 and 20)

The allegations ln Ex. 5, and the documents attached as Exs. 6 through 32 graphically demonstrate that defendants in this case singled out, made particularized misstatements to, exploited and created conflicts of interest among, organized labor and union officials and their representatives, to actively defeat the interests of and injure the Funds.

They show the defendants actively driving a wedge between the two groups of Trustees serving the Funds -- the Unions and Employers -- with Unions being exhorted to frustrate, through collective bargaining, Employer efforts to reduce Funds' costs attributable to smoking.

Re: Those 'consultants' and helpers of the LMC:

The Fund trustees selected by the Unions "are often the Union's elected officers" -- ie, the same groups of persons to whom the AFL-CIO statements and collective bargaining "kits" , secretly drafted by the Tobacco Industry, and other misrepresentations and misconduct described above, were directed.

http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/sbs64d00/pdf

  1. ↑ http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/mok83b00/pdf Hill Letter 1
  2. ↑ https://www.industrydocumentslibrary.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=jzbh0035 Hill Letter 2
  3. ↑ http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/qnh38b00/pdf
  4. ↑ http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/zmh38b00/pdf
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