Richard Berman - Organizations Managed By Berman

Organizations Managed By Berman

As of May 2009, Berman was the sole owner and executive director of Berman and Company, a for-profit management firm that ran fifteen corporate-funded groups. He has held at least sixteen positions within these interlocking organizations. Just six of these nonprofits provide as much as 70% of Berman and Company's revenue.

Organizations founded and managed by Berman include:

• The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), originally named the Guest Choice Network (GCN). CCF serves as an advocate for restaurants, meat, dairy, food processors, and alcohol. The group was formed in 1995 with funding from tobacco giant Phillip Morris.

• The American Beverage Institute (ABI), which fights against laws increasingly designed to criminalize alcohol consumption, including the push to further lower existing blood-alcohol arrest thresholds. In May 2010, the Humane Society and MADD filed a complaint with the New York Commission on Public Integrity, charging that the American Beverage Institute was in fact lobbying but had failed to register with the state as lobbyists.

• The Employment Policies Institute (EPI), which is opposed to raising the minimum wage, particularly in the labor-intensive restaurant industry. It points to academic studies alleging that increases in the minimum wage lead to job losses, particularly among the poor and uneducated.

• The Center for Union Facts (CUF), which argues that unions are corrupt and bad for workers. They have run full-page ads in major print media outlets (New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post) blaming trade unions for the bankruptcies of American industries. The CUF website purports that it is the largest online database of labor-union reporting on salaries, budgets, and political spending. Recently, they have produced TV ads alleging intimidation by trade unions. CUF is a non-profit; 2007 federal tax returns showed revenues of $2.5 million, with $840,000 being paid to Berman and Company for management services.

The CCF has challenged the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Union of Concerned Scientists, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. In late 2006, the company initiated a campaign to downplay the level of mercury in fish; their website encourages pregnant women to eat more fish (which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have recommended against for years), and calls findings that don't support their claims "scare tactics."

Though Berman and Company does not publicly name their clients, 60 minutes obtained a list of companies that fund the Center for Consumer Freedom. Among the parties named have been The Coca-Cola Company, Tyson Foods, Outback Steakhouse, Wendy's International, Inc., Brinker International (parent company of Chili's and Macaroni Grill), Arby's, Hooters, and Red Lobster.