Entangling alliance: the Globe union and O'Neill
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My friend Dan Kennedy likes the op-ed
in today's Globe, which hammers the New York Times Co.--the Globe's
corporate parent--for outsourcing 45 jobs to India. Me, I'm not so sure.
The
op-ed in question was co-written by Robert Haynes, president of the
Massachusetts AFL-CIO, and Jeremy Crockford, identified as "a public
relations consultant who represents both the state AFL-CIO and the
Boston Newspaper Guild." What isn't mentioned is that Crockford does
his PR work at O'Neill and Associates--which, as Globe columnist Joan
Vennochi reminded us
last summer, also lobbies on behalf of Big Dig contractor Bechtel. In
fact, Crockford is an ex-Bechtel employee who was intimately
linked with its Big Dig work. From his O'Neill and Associates bio:
Beginning
in
1999,
Mr.
Crockford
worked
for
Bechtel
Corp.
as
Chief
of
Staff/Director
of
Communications
on
the
nation’s
largest
construction
project,
Boston’s
$15
billion
Big
Dig.
Mr.
Crockford
worked
with
the
project
director,
deputy
director
and
construction
manager
to
analyze
project
fiscal,
construction
and
schedule
information
to
determine
the
project’s
true
financial
condition.
Mr.
Crockford
was
instrumental
in
making
the
project’s
bottom
line
public,
and
was
the
chief
spokesman
on
the
issue
in
the
national
and
local
media.
Other O'Neill and Associates clients include MassPort, Harvard Pilgrim
Health Care, Tufts Associated Health Plan, Citizens Bank, Sovereign
Bank, and Massachusetts Court Appointed Special Advocates.
Now, the Globe's reporters and columnists won't necessarily go easy on Bechtel or any other O'Neill client simply because O'Neill represents the Globe union. The aformentioned Vennochi column is proof of that. Still, just as there was something awkward about Ted Kennedy, Steve Lynch and other local politicians sending an anti-outsourcing letter to the Times Co., there's something awkward about the Globe union's lobbying firm representing clients who'll be the subject of future Globe coverage. Haynes' advocacy raises questions too, but at least readers were told exactly who he is.
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