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.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO