Booze Union Starts Statewide TV Buy (With Video)

UFCW 1776, the labor union that represents the 3,000 employees of Pennsylvania’s state-owned wine and spirits stores, is taking its message to the air. It opposes a GOP plan to privatize the industry.

Among other charges, a narrator says, “This reckless scheme could raise our taxes by hundreds of millions of dollars. This reckless scheme will cost 5,000 Pennsylvania jobs and destroy small businesses.”

UFCW ad screenshotThe Philadelphia Inquirer first reported the buy, and the fact that the union might spend up to $1 million on the ads. Leader Wendell Young IV said that was on the table as long as the bill was being debated by the Pa. Senate.

“Governor Corbett’s push to end the state-run monopoly on liquor sales is about giving Pennsylvanians the same type of consumer convenience Americans in 48 other states already enjoy,” responded Corbett campaign manager Mike Barley. “The best part about the Governor’s plan is that all the revenue from divesting the state of this archaic system go to help fund education.”

“We understand that those opposed to this commonsense reform are well-funded and will stop at nothing to protect their own interests, but Governor Corbett will continue to fight for the people of Pennsylvania who would like to have the same consumer convenience most Americans already enjoy.”

A peek around the FCC political filings of a variety of Pa. television stations didn’t turn up any filings yet. That isn’t unusual, as it isn’t set to start airing on TV and radio until Friday.

But the ad buy could be as much about playing up the political threat of liquor privatization to wavering lawmakers as actually reaching the average viewer. The spot above doesn’t look like something that was produced for a million dollar TV campaign. Rather, it looks like someone quickly put together some visuals over the audio of an already-completed radio ad.

8 Responses

  1. Booze union?!?!

    First of all, I think UFCW 1776 represents a bit more than liquor store employees. Second of all, that’s so biased I don’t even know where it start. Are you saying that they are all drunks, or that they only care about protecting drunks?

  2. Ryan “The Infidel” Shafik is feared by hacks of Pennsylvania like no other.

  3. Long and Nyquist Lobbying Disclosure Form…note client Comcast. The Rendell Cohen Comcast Obama Billionaire Democrats are financing Tom Corbett, an alleged Republican. Megan Callahan, wife of Mike Turzai’s cheif of staff, Krystjan Callahan, and Megan Crompton, wife of Senate President Pro Tem Scarnati’s chief of staff, Andrew Crompton, sleeping witht the Incumbent Insiders can make lobbying so much easier. http://www.scribd.com/doc/126814808/Lobbyists-Mike-Long-and-Todd-Nyquist-Registration-with-names-of-affiliated-lobbyists-and-their-clients

  4. Republicans “A House Divided”

    Kari Andren of Pittsburgh Tribune Review does a very workmanlike job and outs Double Dealing Republicans Mike Long and Todd Nyquist and their ring of Incestuous Insider Incumbents. This counterproductive Network needs to be broken if Pennsylvania is to grow economically. http://triblive.com/state/pennsylvania/3930754-74/campaign-nyquist-privatization#axzz2RnwknJCt

    These double dealing double talking Republicans are selling us out to porkers feeding on taxpayer money at political trough. Working both sides of the fence is like employee working for a business competitor, or like a lawyer representing both sides in a dispute. “Serving two masters” doesn’t work well in real world of business. In Harrisburg, it seems to be unremarkable. I think we see why the Republicans are having such a hard time getting anything done. They are a “House Divided”.

    Why is Republican State Committee funding an organization that
    undermines Gov. Corbett’s key initiative? Or is it? Note Mike Turzai’s
    chief of staff is Krystjan Callahan, husband to Long and Nyquist’s
    lobbyist, Megan Callahan. So, how serious is Mike Turzai about this
    issue? Conflicts of interest tell us something.

    Megan Crompton is wife of Senator Scarnati’s chief of staff, Andrew Crompton who is innocent until proven guilty of any illegal Bonusgate activity.
    Mike Long’s son works for Sen. Scarnati.

    Why is Rob Gleason supporting double dealers like Mike
    Long and Todd Nyquist ? One wonders if he is a double dealer himself or, perhaps, his insurance company.

  5. Pete – People on Politicspa know that the half billion dollar number is bull. You’ll have better luck trying to trick people on Philly.com or PennLive.

  6. I bet Tom Corbett wishes he would have thrown Mike Long in jail when he had the chance 😉

  7. You show your bias when you call the union the booze union.The state will loos 500 million each year as a result of privatization.

  8. i am still waiting to hear how the privatization of liquor,wine and beer sales will replace the 500 million annual profit from spirits sales that now goes into the General Fund.After privatization that money will go to the new owners of the licenses not the Commonwealth.Will general taxes have to be raised to make up the shortfall?I

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