Labor Troubles for 5WPR?
The controversial public relations firm 5W Public Relations is the subject of an “ongoing investigation” by the New York Department of Labor, the department told the Forward.
The investigation prompted an allegedly stormy visit to 5WPR’s offices on Monday, which was first reported on the gossip Web site Gawker. Gawker has reported in the past on the difficult relationship that 5WPR and its brash CEO, Ronn Torossian, have had with employees and former employees.
When asked about the raid by the Forward, Torossian wrote in an email: “The department of labor made a random site visit.”
5WPR represents a number of big companies, but it has attracted equal attention for its work with smaller clients like the evangelical preacher, John Hagee, the right-wing Israeli politician Binyamin Alon, and the kosher meat company Agriprocessors.
5WPR has been under scrutiny since it announced that it was representing Taglit-Birthright Israel, which sends young Jews on free trips to Israel.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
