By Dustin Slaughter
Billy Penn confirmed this afternoon that a conservative, Harrisburg-based think tank called the Commonwealth Foundation is behind an anti-Philadelphia Federation of Teachers campaign, which includes hiring faux-protesters for tomorrow afternoon’s protest against the School Reform Commission’s decision on October 6th to cancel its contract with the teacher’s union, and launching a website which will be called PFTFails.com.
The Declaration yesterday broke the news that a New York marketing firm, GoGorilla Media, was soliciting counter-demonstrators and offering pay ranging from $100-120 for the duration of the protest.
Billy Penn‘s Anna Orso reports:
Cindy Hamill-Dahlgren, spokeswoman for the Commonwealth Foundation, confirmed Wednesday that the group hired New York guerrilla marketing firm GoGorilla, which will pay about 12 people to hand out fliers and hold banners in opposition to the teachers’ union — however, she said she wouldn’t characterize this effort as a “counter-protest.”
Tomorrow’s legitimate protest is scheduled for 4 pm at 440 North Broad Street. According to the Facebook event page, as many as 800 demonstrators may attend.
The Philly Declaration 
[…] conservative Commonwealth Foundation is putting together an astroturf campaign against Philly teachers today, and it turns out they’re not alone. An email was sent to reporters noting that the president of […]
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