Center for Union Facts
An American labor-policy advocacy and public-relations organization that campaigns against organized labor and promotes union accountability and workplace-choice policies.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
The Center for Union Facts (CUF) is a United States-based interest group focused on labor unions, union governance, collective bargaining, labor policy, and education reform. It presents itself as an information and research organization concerned with the finances, political activity, leadership, and conduct of labor unions. In practice, it is principally known for advocacy and communications campaigns that are critical of organized labor, particularly public-sector unions and teachers' unions. CUF was launched in 2006 by political consultant and public-affairs executive Richard Berman. It is associated with Berman and Company, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that develops research, communications, and advertising programs for advocacy and policy clients. Media coverage has placed CUF within a broader network of nonprofit and public-relations organizations created by Berman to advance corporate or industry-aligned messages. The organization does not generally disclose the identities of all of its funders, a feature that has attracted criticism from labor groups and other observers. The group became visible through newspaper and television advertising. Its initial 2006 launch used full-page advertisements in major newspapers, followed by television spots portraying workers criticizing union dues, union leadership, and compulsory representation. Later advertisements presented union organizers as coercive or intimidating figures. CUF has also run campaigns directed at public-employee unions, teachers' unions, and individual labor organizations. Its messaging commonly emphasizes declining union membership, alleged union self-interest, political spending, resistance to education reform, and alleged misconduct by union officials. A major part of CUF's work is its Union Facts database, which the organization describes as a large collection of information drawn from federal, state, and local government records. The database covers union finances, membership, employee and leader compensation, political and lobbying activity, strikes, unfair-labor-practice allegations, and criminal or disciplinary matters. The website also provides explanatory material about union decertification and profiles of selected unions, including the Teamsters, AFL-CIO, Writers Guild West, and United Auto Workers. CUF has supported legislation intended to limit or condition union power. It opposed the Employee Free Choice Act, which would have expanded the use of card-check recognition in union organizing, and supported the Employee Rights Act, a proposal associated with measures such as periodic union recertification, limits on certain union expenditures, and stronger member control over political spending. The organization also participated in public debates surrounding Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's 2012 recall campaign and broader disputes over public-sector bargaining. Education has been another important area of activity. CUF created AFTFacts.com and related campaigns aimed at the American Federation of Teachers and other teachers' unions. In 2008 it organized a controversial “Ten Worst Union-Protected Teachers” contest, offering selected teachers money to leave the profession. The organization later advertised against the Washington Teachers' Union and criticized AFT president Randi Weingarten. Teachers' unions and their representatives have responded that CUF uses inflammatory claims, undisclosed funding, and selective examples to create an anti-union climate. CUF also publishes or has operated issue-specific websites, including LaborPains.org, TeachersUnionExposed.com, SEIUExposed.com, SubwayScam.com, and WorkerCenters.com. Its representatives have appeared on Fox Business, CNN, CNBC, and other news outlets, and have published opinion pieces in national newspapers and policy publications. The organization remains active as a communications and advocacy platform focused on changing public perceptions of organized labor rather than as a conventional commercial product brand.
History
The Center for Union Facts emerged in February 2006 as a labor-policy advocacy project founded by Richard Berman, whose Berman and Company public-affairs firm has created and managed multiple issue-oriented nonprofit campaigns. CUF entered public debate through full-page advertisements in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and other newspapers. Its early communications presented unions as costly, politically powerful institutions whose leaders were insufficiently accountable to ordinary workers. In May 2006, CUF expanded into television advertising. One commercial used actors presented as workers who sarcastically described the supposed advantages of unions, including paying dues and supporting highly compensated union leaders. Another portrayed large union officials pressuring a worker inside his home. Labor representatives described the claims as inaccurate and inflammatory, while academic observers said the campaign was notable because it sought to shape the general public climate around unionization rather than influence only a specific organizing election or strike. The organization subsequently developed a research and communications infrastructure. Its Union Facts website compiled public-record material on union assets, membership, employee counts, leader compensation, political expenditures, lobbying, strikes, unfair-labor-practice matters, and criminal histories. CUF described the collection as one of the most extensive databases of information about U.S. labor unions. It also created explanatory resources about union decertification, allowing workers to learn about procedures for ending a union's representation. CUF's policy advocacy concentrated on proposals intended to reduce union institutional power or increase member oversight. It opposed the Employee Free Choice Act, which would have made card-check recognition more available as an alternative to secret-ballot elections. It later promoted the Employee Rights Act, including proposals for recurring union authorization votes and greater control over dues used for political purposes. CUF also argued that organized labor's declining membership reflected poor service, political overreach, and a failure to adapt to a changing workforce. Public-sector and education unions became particularly prominent targets. In 2008, CUF staged a national contest focused on teachers it said were protected from dismissal by union rules. The contest offered selected winners money to leave teaching, but none accepted the offer and the individuals were not publicly identified. CUF later operated AFTFacts.com and placed advertising against the Washington Teachers' Union. In 2014 it distributed a highly personal critique of AFT president Randi Weingarten, prompting further media attention and criticism from teachers' union officials. The group also intervened in wider political conflicts. During the 2012 Wisconsin recall campaign, CUF spent money on advertisements defending Scott Walker and criticizing public-sector unions. It publicized disputes involving the Service Employees International Union and political contributions, and its representatives commented on union participation in national elections. Through LaborPains.org and related websites, CUF continued to publish commentary on labor legislation, union controversies, organizing, education, and alleged misconduct. CUF's activities have been controversial because of its aggressive rhetoric and the limited public disclosure of some funding sources. Labor organizations have described Richard Berman and CUF as paid anti-union campaigners, while CUF has argued that its work exposes information that union leadership would prefer to keep obscure. The organization is best understood as a continuing advocacy and public-relations platform rather than a membership-based union, commercial company, or neutral academic research institution.
- 2012
Wisconsin recall intervention
[1]CUF supported Scott Walker during the Wisconsin recall controversy through television advertising and public messaging.
- 2011
Employee Rights Act campaign
[1]CUF announced a substantial campaign supporting the Employee Rights Act and its proposed union-accountability provisions.
- 2010
Washington Teachers' Union advertising
[1]CUF ran Washington-area advertising after the teachers' union threatened litigation concerning teacher dismissals and education reforms.
- 2008
Ten Worst Union-Protected Teachers contest
[1]CUF launched a national contest intended to illustrate what it viewed as barriers to removing ineffective or misconduct-involved teachers.
- 2006
Organization launched
[1]CUF began operations with full-page newspaper advertisements criticizing organized labor.
- 2006
First television campaign
[1]The organization introduced television advertising attacking union dues, leadership, and organizing practices.
Products and positioning
A research-driven, anti-union advocacy and public-affairs organization that frames itself as a source of transparency about labor unions and as an advocate for individual employee choice, while labor organizations characterize it as a business-funded campaign against organized labor.
Research database
Union Facts database
An online collection of public-record information about U.S. labor unions. Its subject areas include union finances, assets, membership, staffing, leader compensation, political and lobbying activity, strikes, unfair-labor-practice matters, and criminal histories. The database is designed as an advocacy and transparency resource rather than as a neutral commercial data product.
Labor-news and commentary website
LaborPains.org
A CUF-associated blog and commentary platform covering union news, alleged misconduct, labor legislation, organizing disputes, and public-sector employment controversies. Its editorial approach is critical of organized labor and supports the organization's broader communications strategy.
Education-policy advocacy website
AFTFacts.com
A website created to criticize the American Federation of Teachers and teachers' unions, especially their positions on school reform, teacher evaluation, dismissal procedures, and education policy. It combines commentary with education-related statistics and campaign messaging.
Worker information resource
Union decertification guides
Online explanatory material describing how workers may seek to end a union's representation when they no longer want that union to represent them. The resource emphasizes alleged union corruption, lack of democracy, violence, ineffectiveness, and dissatisfaction as possible reasons for considering decertification.
Controversies
2012
Chicago Tribune rejects advertisement over racial undertones
The Chicago Tribune declined to run a CUF advertisement that used an image associated with George Wallace to criticize teachers' unions. The newspaper considered the creative to contain racial undertones; CUF said the message concerned education reform rather than race.
2008
Criticism over undisclosed campaign funding
Labor representatives criticized CUF and Richard Berman for not identifying all organizations and individuals funding its advertising and teacher-focused campaigns.
Marketing campaigns
- 2014Randi Weingarten and school reform campaign
United States
CUF distributed a mailing and related messaging attacking AFT president Randi Weingarten and accusing teachers' unions of obstructing school reform and protecting ineffective teachers.
Outcome. The campaign received press attention and was condemned by teachers' union representatives as a personal and misleading attack.
- 2012Wisconsin recall campaign
United States
CUF purchased television advertising supporting Governor Scott Walker during the recall effort centered on public-sector union bargaining rights and Wisconsin labor policy.
Outcome. Walker survived the recall election; CUF continued using the dispute to argue against public-sector union power.
- 2008Ten Worst Union-Protected Teachers
United States
CUF invited the public to nominate teachers it considered protected from discipline or dismissal by union rules. Ten winners were selected and offered money to leave teaching, although none accepted and their identities were not released.
Outcome. The contest generated media coverage and criticism from teachers' unions, while CUF said it had demonstrated the difficulty of removing allegedly unsuitable teachers.
- 2006National anti-union advertising launch
United States
CUF introduced itself through newspaper advertisements and then television commercials portraying union dues, union leadership, and organizing as burdensome or coercive. The campaign was designed to influence broad public attitudes toward organized labor.
Outcome. The campaign established CUF as a nationally visible anti-union advocacy group and prompted criticism from labor representatives.
Brand decisions
2011
Promote the Employee Rights ActStrategyBackground
CUF argued that union members should have recurring opportunities to approve representation and decide how dues are used for political purposes.
Action taken
The organization committed to a major public campaign supporting the Employee Rights Act.
Aftermath
The proposal became part of CUF's continuing legislative agenda against what it described as permanent or insufficiently accountable union representation.
2008
Create a teacher-focused advocacy platformOtherBackground
CUF sought to connect union rules with public concern about teacher quality and school performance.
Action taken
It created AFTFacts.com and ran campaigns directed at teachers' unions and their role in education reform.
Aftermath
Teachers' unions responded with criticism and counter-messaging, while CUF continued to use education as one of its principal issue areas.
2006
Use mass advertising to shape perceptions of unionsStrategyBackground
CUF entered the labor-policy debate at a time when business-funded campaigns were often aimed at individual organizing drives or strikes.
Action taken
It used national newspaper and television advertisements to criticize unions as institutions and to influence public attitudes more broadly.
Aftermath
The approach made CUF prominent and drew both media attention and strong opposition from labor organizations.
- AFL-CIO — The AFL-CIO criticized the advertisements' claims as unfounded and outrageous.
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