Los Angeles – Hundreds will descend on the offices of Occidental Petroleum in Los Angeles on Thursday, July 22, calling on Occidental and other large California oil producers who exploit a $1.2 billion annual tax loophole to do their part to rebuild California.
Eliminating the oil drilling loophole would raise $1.2 billion to help fill state budget gap and save jobs and vital services.
Social service workers, child care providers, school employees, college students and community members will march from the Federal Building in Westwood to the oil giant’s offices to highlight the vital services which could be cut if state elected leaders decide to keep the oil drilling loophole in place.
Rally at the Federal Building: Thursday, July 22, 5 PM
11000 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles (Corner of Wilshire and Veteran)
March to Occidental Petroleum: 5:30 PM
10889 Wilshire Blvd. (4 blocks)
Participating organizations include: Service Employees International Union (SEIU), The Coalition for Clean Air, National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), California Partnership, Communities for a Better Environment, University of California Students Association, California State Universities Employees Union, Community Health Councils, 9 to 5 National Association for Working Women
Did you know that Texas the largest oil producer in the 48 contiguous states has a part time Assembly and legislature. Cut costs in Sacramento. Become more efficient. Stop Waisting our money. Oh yeah and did you know that oil companies have a financial responsibility to make a profit for their stock holders and every dime you tax them will come out of our hides in gasoline costs, which will increase our cost of living that we will then ask for more money in salaries that the municipalities can’t afford already. How can we tell our employers to be more efficient if we aren’t willing to do the same. I am all for a livable wage with benefits but lets take a look at where we can be more efficient and stop causing my purchasing power to shrink.
Hi Rick, as you know from experience, SEIU does not support government waste or inefficiency. We want government to run responsibly but we do not believe that American citizens who have paid taxes for many years should suffer when they need assistance simply because our governor decides to balance the budget by cutting public services. I’m speaking at today’s rally, and here’s some of what I’m going to say:
• Other states who tax oil companies are not paying higher gas prices. Many states pay lower gas prices than California, and oil is priced on a world market.
• SEIU Local 721 submitted several money-saving and efficiency proposals to Los Angeles County in 2009, which were derived from workers who do the day-to-day work. If many of these suggestions are adopted, they can save local government millions of dollars.
• When a company like Occidental Petroleum can pay the CEO a salary of $148 million (including stock options and bonuses) a year, they are probably financially stable and are upholding their fiduciary responsibilities to their stock holders.