Victor Kamber
Encyclopedia
Victor Kamber is a labor union
activist and political consultant
in the United States
. A Democrat
, he worked for the AFL-CIO
in the 1970s before forming The Kamber Group, a public relations
firm, in 1980.
The Kamber Group worked for Democratic Party
candidates and labor unions for 25 years, becoming one of the most well-known "boutique" P.R. firms in Washington, D.C.
Kamber sold The Kamber Group in 2005 to Carmen Group Lobbying
, where he remains president of its subsidiary, Carmen Group Communications.
Kamber is a frequent guest on national and local television and radio programs, newspapers and magazines, and is a published author.
He currently is an adjunct professor at The American University.
Kamber subsequently attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
. During his undergraduate schooling, Kamber joined the Phi Gamma Delta
collegiate social fraternity and worked on the presidential campaign of United States Senator
Barry Goldwater
. He earned his bachelor's degree
in 1965.
In 1968, Kamber worked on the presidential campaigns
of Nelson Rockefeller
and Richard Nixon
.
Kamber later received a Master of Arts
degree from the University of New Mexico
, a J.D.
from the Washington College of Law
at the American University
, and a master of laws
from George Washington University
(he received this last degree in 1972).
Kamber later was an administrative assistant to United States Representative
Seymour Halpern
(R-New York
).
In 1970, Kamber was convicted of forgery while teaching at Prince George's Community College
(PGCC). At the time, Kamber was president of the national Young Republicans
' leadership training school in Chicago. Federal officials accused him of submitting a forged letter to his draft board
in 1968. The letter had ostensibly been signed by the president of PGCC and attested that Kamber was a faculty member there. But PGCC president John Handley testified he had not seen the letter, had not authorized it and had not signed it. Kamber was acquitted of charges that he did not teach at the community college, but convicted of forgery and sentenced to two years in prison.
(BCTD) of the AFL-CIO. Under Robert Georgine
, also a Republican, Kamber rose quickly to become the department's chief lobbyist. Kamber's tenure at BCTD was marked by a significant drop in the political power of the AFL-CIO on Capitol Hill. In 1977, Kamber and the BCTD persuaded the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives to rush a common situs picketing bill onto the floor in the hopes of stampeding members of Congress to approve the legislation. Instead, the tactic lead to a major defeat for labor.
After the defeat of the picketing bill, Kamber was tapped by AFL-CIO president George Meany
to head a labor law
reform task force. Kamber's goal was to prioritize the AFL-CIO's labor law reform goals, strategize a plan for building support for the bill, and winning the legislation's enactment. The effort never got off the ground, as political changes in Congress put the labor federation on the political defensive.
The Kamber Group quickly known as one of Washington's hottest public relations firms. In time, it became one of the nation's largest independently-owned consulting and public relations firms.
Almost immediately, Kamber took on some very high-profile clients. He established a legal defense fund for Rep. Frank Thompson, Jr. (D-New Jersey
), who was caught in the federal government's Abscam
sting. He also supported a movement to draft Sen. Ted Kennedy
for the Democratic presidential nomination.
In 1982, Kamber founded the Progressive Political Action Committee (ProPAC). ProPAC was a political action committee
which sought to counteract political election spending by the National Conservative Political Action Committee
(NCPAC) by supporting Democratic candidate for federal office. Kamber served as ProPAC's treasurer. ProPAC shut down its operations in 1983.
Kamber did not neglect his labor roots, however. He was counsel for the NFL Players Association during the 1982 National Football League strike. He also served as a public relations consultant and spokesman for the Laborers' International Union of North America
(LIUNA). In April 1983, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations heard testimony that reputed Chicago mobster Tony Accardo
"hand-picked" Edward T. Hanley
of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees
and Angelo Fosco of LIUNA to be presidents of their respective unions. Kamber helped LIUNA strategize a political and public relations response to the allegations. Kamber pushed his consulting firm to get into labor organizing campaigns as well. In 1984, he sued Ray Rogers
, president of Corporate Campaigns, Inc., over Rogers' attempt to patent the term "corporate campaign
." He also advised Doris Turner in her unsuccessful re-election bid for president of the Drug, Hospital, and Health Care Employees Union (better known as Local 1199) in 1986.
In 1984, Kamber served as a national campaign advisor to Sen. Alan Cranston
during his run for the U.S. presidency. However, Kamber eventually resigned as political and public relations consultant to the campaign after complaining that Cranston's personal staff pushed him to the side. The relationship between Kamber and the Cranston campaign deteriorated further when Kamber sought a temporary restraining order freezing the campaign's funds. Kamber claimed the Cranston campaign owned him $150,000, but the funds were unfrozen a short time later.
In 1987, Kamber established Americans Against Government Control of Unions. The outfit was a non-profit company whose goal was to build public opinion against government takeovers of corrupt labor unions. William Olwell, vice president of the United Food and Commercial Workers
(UFCW), was the group's treasurer. Kamber formed the group as UFCW, the Teamsters
and other unions were under investigation for labor racketeering and domination by organized crime
. Although The Kamber Group was working for the Teamsters at the time, Kamber asserted that the formation of his new organization was unrelated to the government's investigation of the Teamsters.
In 1988, Kamber played a key role in helping re-affiliate the Teamsters with the AFL-CIO. The union had been ejected from the labor federation in the 1950s over charges of corruption, but the AFL-CIO had been asking the Teamsters to rejoin the federation throughout the 1980s. William H. Wynn, president of UFCW, and BCTD president Georgine, assisted by Kamber, negotiated the Teamsters' return.
Kamber turned his attention back to politics in 1992. He supported the U.S presidential candidacy of Sen. Tom Harkin
. Although he did not become involved in a presidential campaign to the extent that he did in 1984, Kamber nevertheless played a big role in the 1992 election. In July of that year, he established a political action committee called Americans for Change. The group's goal was to raise $1 million to run attack ads against President George H. W. Bush
.
In 1993, Kamber led the battle to end a Republican filibuster of the nomination of William B. Gould IV to be chair of the National Labor Relations Board
. The Republicans eventually gave up the filibuster, and Gould was confirmed.
In 2002, Kamber became a paid spokesman for the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades
, acting as political consultant and public relations expert for the union.
In 2003, Kamber established the Kamber Group Political Action Fund, a political action committee. Kamber became the PAC's treasurer.
hired Kamber to direct several key organizing and collective bargaining campaigns.
Kamber subsequently was forced to take responsibility for a scandal which involved the American Federation of Teachers
(AFT), another AFL-CIO affiliate. In February 1985, Albert Shanker
, then president of the AFT, announced at a news conference his union had convinced the New York State Teachers Retirement System to withdraw $450 million from Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company
because the bank had poorly administered workers' pension funds. Shanker also announced that the union had convinced the Pennsylvania School Employees' Retirement System to withdraw $300 million from the same bank, and that five other state teachers' retirement funds were expected to do the same. AFL-CIO officials said the AFT had convinced the retirement systems to withdraw the funds to protest loans Manufacturers Hanover had made to the Phelps Dodge
mining corporation, which was involved in a bitter strike with the steelworkers.
Shanker was later forced to retract his statement. The pension fund deal had never existed, he said a few days later. The state retirement funds had withdrawn only $200 million from the bank. Shanker also admitted the fund withdrawals had been going on since mid-1984, and had nothing to do with the strike at Phelps Dodge.
Shanker angrily said that he had been "taken advantage of," and blamed Kamber. Kamber accepted responsibility, saying, "We're paid to take the blame, so we're at fault."
In 2003, Kamber resigned as president of The Kamber Group. Thomas J. Mackell, Jr. was named president and chief operating officer of The Kamber Group in his stead. Kamber remained the company's chairman and chief executive officer.
On February 28, 2005, Kamber closed The Kamber Group and joined The Carmen Group as president of Carmen Group Communications. The Carmen Group was founded by David M. Carmen, a friend of Kamber's. A number of Kamber employees took jobs with The Carmen Group as well.
. He is a member of the Economic Club of Washington, and treasurer for the National Theatre
.
In 2006, Kamber received the PR News Hall of Fame Award.
In 1979 Kamber purchased the Politicards name, a company that had put out a set of playing card
s featuring the image of political candidates and public officials in 1972. He went on to produce his own sets of playing cards under the Politicards name for election years 1980 and 1984. In 1996, the Politicards name was reclaimed by Peter Green, the artist responsible for the original deck in 1972. The cards, known as "Politicards," were widely imitated over the years, especially by the most-wanted Iraqi playing cards
.
In 1984, Kamber created "Rappin' Ronnie", a music video
which depicted a rapping
President Ronald Reagan
. The video was broadcast on "Convention Television," a closed-circuit television
"magazine program" broadcast to delegates at the Democratic National Convention
. The video depicted a stuttering Reagan saying his trademark "W-w-w-w-well well well". The music video eventually aired on MTV
, and was featured in "Homer Loves Flanders
", a fifth-season episode of The Simpsons
.
In 1992, Kamber started a PAC
, Americans for Change, hoping to be the Democratic party's answer to Floyd Brown
, the Republican party's opposition research
specialist known for inethical, negative campaign tactics.
. Bonitati, a friend of Kamber's, was leaving the Washington Hilton Hotel with the president. Kamber pulled Bonitati aside for a few seconds. Just then, Reagan exited the hotel and John Hinckley, Jr.
shot and wounded him and three others. "Bonitati has often said his brief conversation with Kamber may have saved his life." Bonitati later joined The Kamber Group as a vice president, and set up a "nonpartisan" flower shop with Kamber.
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
activist and political consultant
Political consulting
Political consulting, beyond the self-evident definition of consulting in political matters, refers to a specific management consulting industry which has grown up around advising and assisting political campaigns. This article deals primarily with the development and nature of political consulting...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. A Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, he worked for the AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
in the 1970s before forming The Kamber Group, a public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
firm, in 1980.
The Kamber Group worked for Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
candidates and labor unions for 25 years, becoming one of the most well-known "boutique" P.R. firms in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Kamber sold The Kamber Group in 2005 to Carmen Group Lobbying
Carmen Group Lobbying
Carmen Group is a lobbying firm in Washington, D.C..Carmen Group was founded by David Carmen in 1985. He has advised many United States Governors, Mayors, Congressmen and Senators on policy and served as a political advisor to former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush...
, where he remains president of its subsidiary, Carmen Group Communications.
Kamber is a frequent guest on national and local television and radio programs, newspapers and magazines, and is a published author.
He currently is an adjunct professor at The American University.
Early life and career
Kamber, an Assyrian-American, was born in 1943 in Chicago, Illinois, and attended public schools there.Kamber subsequently attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
. During his undergraduate schooling, Kamber joined the Phi Gamma Delta
Phi Gamma Delta
The international fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta is a collegiate social fraternity with 120 chapters and 18 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848, and its headquarters are located in Lexington, Kentucky, USA...
collegiate social fraternity and worked on the presidential campaign of United States Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
. He earned his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in 1965.
In 1968, Kamber worked on the presidential campaigns
United States presidential election, 1968
The United States presidential election of 1968 was the 46th quadrennial United States presidential election. Coming four years after Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson won in a historic landslide, it saw Johnson forced out of the race and Republican Richard Nixon elected...
of Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Rockefeller
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the 41st Vice President of the United States , serving under President Gerald Ford, and the 49th Governor of New York , as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions...
and Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
.
Kamber later received a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree from the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
, a J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from the Washington College of Law
Washington College of Law
American University Washington College of Law is the law school of American University. It is located on Massachusetts Avenue in the Spring Valley neighborhood of northwest Washington. WCL is ranked 50th among law schools by US News and World Report...
at the American University
American University
American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...
, and a master of laws
Master of Laws
The Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, pursued by those holding a professional law degree, and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. from its Latin name, Legum Magister. The University of Oxford names its taught masters of laws B.C.L...
from George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
(he received this last degree in 1972).
Kamber later was an administrative assistant to United States Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Seymour Halpern
Seymour Halpern
Seymour Halpern was a United States Representative from New York. He was born in New York City November 19, 1913. He graduated from Richmond Hill High School and attended Seth Low College of Columbia University from 1932 to 1934...
(R-New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
).
In 1970, Kamber was convicted of forgery while teaching at Prince George's Community College
Prince George's Community College
Prince George's Community College is a community college located in the unincorporated community of Largo in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States...
(PGCC). At the time, Kamber was president of the national Young Republicans
Young Republicans
The Young Republicans is an organization for members of the Republican Party of the United States between the ages of 18 and 40. It has both a national organization and chapters in individual states....
' leadership training school in Chicago. Federal officials accused him of submitting a forged letter to his draft board
Conscription in the United States
Conscription in the United States has been employed several times, usually during war but also during the nominal peace of the Cold War...
in 1968. The letter had ostensibly been signed by the president of PGCC and attested that Kamber was a faculty member there. But PGCC president John Handley testified he had not seen the letter, had not authorized it and had not signed it. Kamber was acquitted of charges that he did not teach at the community college, but convicted of forgery and sentenced to two years in prison.
AFL-CIO career
After his conviction, Kamber worked as a lobbyist for the Building and Construction Trades DepartmentBuilding and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO
The Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO is a constitutionally mandated department of the AFL-CIO. It was founded on February 10, 1908, as a way to overcome the jurisdictional conflicts occurring in the building and construction trade unions...
(BCTD) of the AFL-CIO. Under Robert Georgine
Robert Georgine
Robert Georgine is a retired labor union activist and leader in the United States, and the former president, chairman and chief executive officer of the Union Labor Life Insurance Company....
, also a Republican, Kamber rose quickly to become the department's chief lobbyist. Kamber's tenure at BCTD was marked by a significant drop in the political power of the AFL-CIO on Capitol Hill. In 1977, Kamber and the BCTD persuaded the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives to rush a common situs picketing bill onto the floor in the hopes of stampeding members of Congress to approve the legislation. Instead, the tactic lead to a major defeat for labor.
After the defeat of the picketing bill, Kamber was tapped by AFL-CIO president George Meany
George Meany
William George Meany led labor union federations in the United States. As an officer of the American Federation of Labor, he represented the AFL on the National War Labor Board during World War II....
to head a labor law
United States labor law
United States labor law is a heterogeneous collection of state and federal laws. Federal law not only sets the standards that govern workers' rights to organize in the private sector, but also overrides most state and local laws that attempt to regulate this area. Federal law also provides more...
reform task force. Kamber's goal was to prioritize the AFL-CIO's labor law reform goals, strategize a plan for building support for the bill, and winning the legislation's enactment. The effort never got off the ground, as political changes in Congress put the labor federation on the political defensive.
The Kamber Group years
Kamber left the AFL-CIO in 1980 and founded his own public relations firm, The Kamber Group.- During his first year, his announced goal was to become the "Hill & KnowltonHill & KnowltonHill & Knowlton is a global public relations company, headquartered in New York City, United States, with 79 offices in 44 countries. Hill & Knowlton was founded in Cleveland, Ohio in 1927 by John W. Hill and is today led by Chairman & CEO, Paul Taaffe...
of the left," but his current anniversary press kit observes that the firm is "often referred to as the 'Bob Gray and Company of the left,'" a reference to the fast-growing Georgetown concern with strong White House ties.
The Kamber Group quickly known as one of Washington's hottest public relations firms. In time, it became one of the nation's largest independently-owned consulting and public relations firms.
Almost immediately, Kamber took on some very high-profile clients. He established a legal defense fund for Rep. Frank Thompson, Jr. (D-New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
), who was caught in the federal government's Abscam
Abscam
Abscam was a United States Federal Bureau of Investigation sting operation run from the FBI's Hauppauge, Long Island, office in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
sting. He also supported a movement to draft Sen. Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
for the Democratic presidential nomination.
In 1982, Kamber founded the Progressive Political Action Committee (ProPAC). ProPAC was a political action committee
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
which sought to counteract political election spending by the National Conservative Political Action Committee
National Conservative Political Action Committee
The National Conservative Political Action Committee was a New Right political action committee in the United States that was a major contributor to the ascendancy of conservative Republicans in the early 1980s, including the election of Ronald Reagan as President, and that innovated the use of...
(NCPAC) by supporting Democratic candidate for federal office. Kamber served as ProPAC's treasurer. ProPAC shut down its operations in 1983.
Kamber did not neglect his labor roots, however. He was counsel for the NFL Players Association during the 1982 National Football League strike. He also served as a public relations consultant and spokesman for the Laborers' International Union of North America
Laborers' International Union of North America
The Laborers' International Union of North America is an American and Canadian labor union formed in 1903. As of March 31, 2010, they have about 632,000 members, members, about 80,000 of which are in Canada.The current general president is Terence M...
(LIUNA). In April 1983, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations heard testimony that reputed Chicago mobster Tony Accardo
Tony Accardo
Antonino Joseph Accardo , also known as "Joe Batters" or "Big Tuna", rose from small-time hoodlum to the position of day-to-day boss of the Chicago Outfit in 1947, to ultimately become the final Outfit authority in 1972, until his death...
"hand-picked" Edward T. Hanley
Edward T. Hanley
Edward T. Hanley was a labor activist and president of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union .-Early life and union career:...
of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees
UNITE HERE
UNITE HERE is a labor union in the United States and Canada with more than 265,000 active members The union's members work predominantly in the hotel, food service, laundry, warehouse, and casino gaming industries...
and Angelo Fosco of LIUNA to be presidents of their respective unions. Kamber helped LIUNA strategize a political and public relations response to the allegations. Kamber pushed his consulting firm to get into labor organizing campaigns as well. In 1984, he sued Ray Rogers
Ray Rogers (labor activist)
Ray Rogers is an American labor rights activist, labor union strategist and organizer as well as a major figure of prominence in the American labor and human rights movement...
, president of Corporate Campaigns, Inc., over Rogers' attempt to patent the term "corporate campaign
Comprehensive campaign
A comprehensive campaign is labor union organizing or a collective bargaining campaign with a heavy focus on research, the use of community coalition-building, publicity and public pressure, political and regulatory pressure, and economic and legal pressure in addition to traditional organizing...
." He also advised Doris Turner in her unsuccessful re-election bid for president of the Drug, Hospital, and Health Care Employees Union (better known as Local 1199) in 1986.
In 1984, Kamber served as a national campaign advisor to Sen. Alan Cranston
Alan Cranston
Alan MacGregor Cranston was an American journalist and Democratic Senator from California.-Education:Cranston earned his high school diploma from the old Mountain View High School, where among other things, he was a track star...
during his run for the U.S. presidency. However, Kamber eventually resigned as political and public relations consultant to the campaign after complaining that Cranston's personal staff pushed him to the side. The relationship between Kamber and the Cranston campaign deteriorated further when Kamber sought a temporary restraining order freezing the campaign's funds. Kamber claimed the Cranston campaign owned him $150,000, but the funds were unfrozen a short time later.
In 1987, Kamber established Americans Against Government Control of Unions. The outfit was a non-profit company whose goal was to build public opinion against government takeovers of corrupt labor unions. William Olwell, vice president of the United Food and Commercial Workers
United Food and Commercial Workers
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union is a labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in many industries, including agriculture, health care, meatpacking, poultry and food processing, manufacturing, textile, G4S Security, chemical...
(UFCW), was the group's treasurer. Kamber formed the group as UFCW, the Teamsters
Teamsters
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of several local and regional locals of teamsters, the union now represents a diverse membership of blue-collar and professional workers in both the public and private sectors....
and other unions were under investigation for labor racketeering and domination by organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
. Although The Kamber Group was working for the Teamsters at the time, Kamber asserted that the formation of his new organization was unrelated to the government's investigation of the Teamsters.
In 1988, Kamber played a key role in helping re-affiliate the Teamsters with the AFL-CIO. The union had been ejected from the labor federation in the 1950s over charges of corruption, but the AFL-CIO had been asking the Teamsters to rejoin the federation throughout the 1980s. William H. Wynn, president of UFCW, and BCTD president Georgine, assisted by Kamber, negotiated the Teamsters' return.
Kamber turned his attention back to politics in 1992. He supported the U.S presidential candidacy of Sen. Tom Harkin
Tom Harkin
Thomas Richard "Tom" Harkin is the junior United States Senator from Iowa and a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served in the United States House of Representatives ....
. Although he did not become involved in a presidential campaign to the extent that he did in 1984, Kamber nevertheless played a big role in the 1992 election. In July of that year, he established a political action committee called Americans for Change. The group's goal was to raise $1 million to run attack ads against President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
.
In 1993, Kamber led the battle to end a Republican filibuster of the nomination of William B. Gould IV to be chair of the National Labor Relations Board
National Labor Relations Board
The National Labor Relations Board is an independent agency of the United States government charged with conducting elections for labor union representation and with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices. Unfair labor practices may involve union-related situations or instances of...
. The Republicans eventually gave up the filibuster, and Gould was confirmed.
In 2002, Kamber became a paid spokesman for the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades
International Union of Painters and Allied Trades
The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades is a union representing about 140,000 painters, glaziers, wall coverers, flooring installers, convention and trade show decorators, glassworkers, sign and display workers, and drywall finishers in the United States and Canada...
, acting as political consultant and public relations expert for the union.
In 2003, Kamber established the Kamber Group Political Action Fund, a political action committee. Kamber became the PAC's treasurer.
USW/AFT scandal
In 1984, the United SteelworkersUnited Steelworkers
The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union is the largest industrial labor union in North America, with 705,000 members. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, U.S., the United Steelworkers represents workers in the United...
hired Kamber to direct several key organizing and collective bargaining campaigns.
Kamber subsequently was forced to take responsibility for a scandal which involved the American Federation of Teachers
American Federation of Teachers
The American Federation of Teachers is an American labor union founded in 1916 that represents teachers, paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; local, state and federal employees; higher education faculty and staff, and nurses and other healthcare professionals...
(AFT), another AFL-CIO affiliate. In February 1985, Albert Shanker
Albert Shanker
Albert Shanker was President of the United Federation of Teachers from 1964 to 1984 as well as President of the American Federation of Teachers from 1974 to 1997.-Early life:...
, then president of the AFT, announced at a news conference his union had convinced the New York State Teachers Retirement System to withdraw $450 million from Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company
Manufacturers Hanover Corporation
Manufacturers Hanover Corporation was the bank holding company formed as parent of Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company, a large New York bank formed by a merger in 1961. After 1969, Manufacturers Hanover Trust became a subsidiary of Manufacturers Hanover Corporation. Charles J...
because the bank had poorly administered workers' pension funds. Shanker also announced that the union had convinced the Pennsylvania School Employees' Retirement System to withdraw $300 million from the same bank, and that five other state teachers' retirement funds were expected to do the same. AFL-CIO officials said the AFT had convinced the retirement systems to withdraw the funds to protest loans Manufacturers Hanover had made to the Phelps Dodge
Phelps Dodge
Phelps Dodge Corporation was an American mining company founded in 1834 by Anson Greene Phelps and William Earle Dodge, Sr.. On March 19, 2007, it was acquired by Freeport-McMoRan and now operates under the name Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.-History:...
mining corporation, which was involved in a bitter strike with the steelworkers.
Shanker was later forced to retract his statement. The pension fund deal had never existed, he said a few days later. The state retirement funds had withdrawn only $200 million from the bank. Shanker also admitted the fund withdrawals had been going on since mid-1984, and had nothing to do with the strike at Phelps Dodge.
Shanker angrily said that he had been "taken advantage of," and blamed Kamber. Kamber accepted responsibility, saying, "We're paid to take the blame, so we're at fault."
Closure of The Kamber Group
On November 11, 1994, The Kamber Group's offices on were badly damaged by fire caused by an electrical short. Kamber is a noted collector of political memorabilia and art. Along with the loss of records, an estimated $300,000 in art—most of it from Kamber's personal collection, on loan to The Kamber Group—was also lost.In 2003, Kamber resigned as president of The Kamber Group. Thomas J. Mackell, Jr. was named president and chief operating officer of The Kamber Group in his stead. Kamber remained the company's chairman and chief executive officer.
On February 28, 2005, Kamber closed The Kamber Group and joined The Carmen Group as president of Carmen Group Communications. The Carmen Group was founded by David M. Carmen, a friend of Kamber's. A number of Kamber employees took jobs with The Carmen Group as well.
Other positions and honors
Kamber is also secretary-treasurer of America's Agenda: Health Care for All, a union-led group which lobbies for universal health careUniversal health care
Universal health care is a term referring to organized health care systems built around the principle of universal coverage for all members of society, combining mechanisms for health financing and service provision.-History:...
. He is a member of the Economic Club of Washington, and treasurer for the National Theatre
National Theatre (Washington, D.C.)
The National Theatre is located in Washington, D.C., and is a venue for a variety of live stage productions with seating for 1,676.Despite its name, it is not a governmentally funded national theatre, but operated by a private, non-profit organization....
.
In 2006, Kamber received the PR News Hall of Fame Award.
Electoral campaign innovations
Kamber is noted as an innovative political campaigner.In 1979 Kamber purchased the Politicards name, a company that had put out a set of playing card
Playing card
A playing card is a piece of specially prepared heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic, marked with distinguishing motifs and used as one of a set for playing card games...
s featuring the image of political candidates and public officials in 1972. He went on to produce his own sets of playing cards under the Politicards name for election years 1980 and 1984. In 1996, the Politicards name was reclaimed by Peter Green, the artist responsible for the original deck in 1972. The cards, known as "Politicards," were widely imitated over the years, especially by the most-wanted Iraqi playing cards
Most-wanted Iraqi playing cards
In the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition, the U.S. military developed a set of playing cards to help troops identify the most-wanted members of President Saddam Hussein's government, mostly high-ranking Baath Party members or members of the Revolutionary Command Council...
.
In 1984, Kamber created "Rappin' Ronnie", a music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
which depicted a rapping
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
. The video was broadcast on "Convention Television," a closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
"magazine program" broadcast to delegates at the Democratic National Convention
1984 Democratic National Convention
The 1984 National Convention of the U.S. Democratic Party was held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California from July 16 to July 19, 1984, to select a candidate for the 1984 United States presidential election. At the convention Walter Mondale was nominated for President and Geraldine...
. The video depicted a stuttering Reagan saying his trademark "W-w-w-w-well well well". The music video eventually aired on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, and was featured in "Homer Loves Flanders
Homer Loves Flanders
"Homer Loves Flanders" is the sixteenth episode of The Simpsons fifth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 17, 1994. In the episode, Ned Flanders helps Homer Simpson get tickets to a football game...
", a fifth-season episode of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
.
In 1992, Kamber started a PAC
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
, Americans for Change, hoping to be the Democratic party's answer to Floyd Brown
Floyd Brown
Floyd Gregory Brown is an American author, speaker and media commentator. He is president of Excellentia Inc., a consulting company specializing in non-profit organizational strategy, development and marketing. Brown has also worked as a political consultant and conducted opposition research for...
, the Republican party's opposition research
Opposition research
Opposition research is:# The term used to classify and describe efforts of supporters or paid consultants of a political candidate to legally investigate the biographical, legal or criminal, medical, educational, financial, public and private administrative and or voting records of the opposing...
specialist known for inethical, negative campaign tactics.
Role in the Reagan assassination attempt
Robert F. Bonitati, an aide to President Reagan, credits Kamber with saving his life during the Reagan assassination attemptReagan assassination attempt
The Reagan assassination attempt occurred on Monday, March 30, 1981, just 69 days into the presidency of Ronald Reagan. While leaving a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., President Reagan and three others were shot and wounded by John Hinckley, Jr...
. Bonitati, a friend of Kamber's, was leaving the Washington Hilton Hotel with the president. Kamber pulled Bonitati aside for a few seconds. Just then, Reagan exited the hotel and John Hinckley, Jr.
John Hinckley, Jr.
John Warnock Hinckley, Jr., attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C., on March 30, 1981, as the culmination of an effort to impress teen actress Jodie Foster. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity and has remained under institutional psychiatric care since...
shot and wounded him and three others. "Bonitati has often said his brief conversation with Kamber may have saved his life." Bonitati later joined The Kamber Group as a vice president, and set up a "nonpartisan" flower shop with Kamber.
Published books
- Kamber, Victor. Giving Up on Democracy: Why Term Limits Are Bad for America Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, 2005. ISBN 089526465X
- Kamber, Victor. Poison Politics: Are Negative Campaigns Destroying Democracy? New York City: Basic Books, 2003. ISBN 9780738208725
- O'Leary, Bradley S. and Kamber, Victor. Are You a Conservative or a Liberal? Austin, Tex.: Boru Books, 1996. ISBN 1887161228