Fairness Center Failures

Dec 12, 2017 | Stories

A pair of recent Pennsylvania court cases made news last week resulting in a loss for the Fairness Center and skeptical Supreme Court justices questioning their arguments in another. The Fairness Center are an Oklahoma based organization suing labor unions and allies exclusively in Pennsylvania. The latest records available show that some of their budget comes from the Commonwealth Foundation, a front “non-profit” that operates as a political pressure organization for its billionaire funders.

The Fairness Center took up the cause of Bill Green, former head of the SRC (State Reform Commission), Philadelphia’s state-imposed governing board for its school district, who was removed from his chairmanship by Governor Wolf. Bill Green was a noted enthusiast of privatizing the school district who constantly antagonized the teachers of Philadelphia. He was a perfect fit for the Fairness Center, who have crusaded against Philadelphia teachers in the courtroom before. Ultimately, of the two lawsuits they filed against Philadelphia teachers, the Fairness Center lost one case on the merits and had the other dismissed for lack of standing to even be able to bring the case.

In addition, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard arguments from the Fairness Center and Pennsylvania Homecare Association, an odd pairing since the Pennsylvania Homecare Association members would not likely approve the extremist causes championed by the funders of the Fairness Center. While the decision will not be out for a little while, the justices were skeptical of the arguments presented by the Fairness Center. The true motives of the Fairness Center are to hurt the organizations that advocate for job security for homecare workers.

Of note, staff members from the Commonwealth Foundation including Charles Mitchell and Matt Brouillette were in attendance at the hearing. The Fairness Center has taken steps to hide their association from the Commonwealth Foundation. The Fairness Center took down their section on their website showing their board members, which included Matt Brouillette and other affiliated right-wing organization leaders.

The Fairness Center’s failures are starting to stack up.

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