FRANK KEEL, gravelly voiced PR mercenary and master of
the all-caps subject line, has spent more than a dozen years dishing out
bombastic and blustering political perspectives, usually on behalf of Local 98
of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Now his service to Philadelphia's powerful Electricians
union comes to an end.
Keel tells Clout he met with Local 98 leader John
Dougherty last week and was told his contract was ending as part of
"significant organizational changes." It came as a surprise, Keel
said.
"Unfortunately, I'm one of those casualties,"
he said. "He told me the union, going forward, is going to be a lot less
involved in politics and media issues."
Keel and Local 98 over the years have been on opposite
sides of issues. Keel said Doc signed off each time he had a client at odds
with the union.
Last year, for example, Keel worked for Al
Taubenberger while Local 98 supported Dan Tinney in the Republican
primary for two at-large City Council seats. Most recently, Keel represented
Teamsters Local 830 in opposition to the tax on sweetened beverages, while
Dougherty pushed it for Mayor Kenney. The tax was signed into law last
week.
"I honestly don't know if that was a factor,"
Keel said of the soda tax and the end of his contract. "I hope it wasn't
the cause of my exit."
Clout reached out to Johnny Doc, who praised Keel's work
and said he is a "great guy."
"We're just reorganizing," Dougherty said.
"We are downsizing our political operation."
(Unrelated question: Will that mean any cuts to the
union's drone surveillance program?)
Dougherty said that rather than paying a communications
professional monthly, Local 98 will hire people for media relations from time
to time.
"We're getting out of the monthly retainer business
and we're going to be more issue-oriented," Dougherty said. "It will
give me some financial flexibility."
Asked if the soda fight was a factor, Doc said of Keel:
"He never saw a Coca-Cola he didn't want to drink. And some days it had a
little rum in it."
Source: Philly.com
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