Meet Chris Lehane. He was a spinmaster for Clinton who served as Gore's spokesman during the 2000 campaign but ditched Kerry in 2003 over stylistic differences. Since then he and his business partner, Democratic hack Mark Fabiani, have built a (one assumes) lucrative business as hacks-for-hire, representing everyone from Kobe Bryant to former California Governor Grey Davis to the Screen Actors Guild to a number of unions united under the Change to Win banner. Recently, though, Lehane and Fabiani picked up a new client: the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, who are trying to bust the writer's strike. Hmm.

So, a couple of guys who have represented a number of sizable unions including one with whom the AMPTP is expected to have to negotiate in June (SAG) is now running the crisis management operation (i.e., media hit squad) of management. Sound problematic? Or, like, perhaps a conflict of interest? Yeah, a couple of union clients of theirs who are supporting the strike thought so, too.

The Service Employees International Union is severing its ties with Lehane and Fabiani and expect the other Change to Win unions (Teamsters, Laborers, Carpenters & Joiners, United Farm Workers, Food and Commercial Workers, and UNITE HERE) to do so as well. SIEU President Andy Stearn says "His days are numbered in the labor movement."

So, either Lehane and Fabiani are so stupid about their clients that they didn't think representing management in the midst of an enormous labor strike would be viewed as a conflict of interest, or they've discovered that there's so much more money to be made by representing companies and management (especially in this day and age when everyone in Washington is scrambling to hire Dems) that they just don't give a shit. Wonder which it is?

The Masters of Disaster Meet Tenacious D [Portfolio.com]

Unions Support WGA, Fire Labor Busting Spinner Chris Lehane [HuffPo]