Powerful Alliance with SEIU, CTA, Labor Partners and the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy California (CSHC) Results in Victories Against Big Oil’s Multimillion Dollar Campaign of Deception
Historic Partnership Helped Elect Robert Garcia (AD 50) and Sade Elhawary (AD 57) to the California State Assembly
SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy California (CSHC) announced that the historic alliance it formed with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU),the California Teachers Association (CTA) and other labor partners through the Opportunity PAC helped elect environmental justice advocates to the State Assembly, including Assemblymembers-elect Robert Garcia (AD 50) and Sade Elhawary (AD 57).
“When California voters learn which candidates are beholden to Big Oil’s agenda of putting corporate profits above community safety, fair prices for consumers, and workers’ rights, they reject those candidates,” said Tia Orr, Executive Director of SEIU California. “I’m proud of our partnership to elect candidates who will fight for our communities’ safety and workers’ right to organize. We’re looking forward to working with Assembly members Robert Garcia and Sade Elhawary to protect working families and prioritize safe and healthy communities.”
Big Oil poured nearly $3.5 million into several races, including opposing Garcia and Elhawary. Big Oil has a history of funding campaigns of politicians they can control with hundreds of thousands of dollars of direct and indirect contributions.
“Once again, Big Oil spent millions to try and mislead voters – but we proved that with the truth on our side, California communities can’t be bought,” said Darryl Molina Sarmiento, CSHC Steering Committee Member and Executive Director of Communities for a Better Environment Action. “Working together with important partners, we were able to defeat some of the wealthiest and most deceptive corporate billionaires in our state. We will continue to make the voices of the frontline communities heard, and we’re proud to have helped elect more environmental justice decision-makers who will prioritize people’s health and safety to the California State Assembly.”
Other powerful labor partners in Opportunity PAC include the California Federation of Teachers (CFT), the California School Employees Association (CSEA), United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), and the California Nurses Association (CNA).
This strategic partnership between CSHC and labor will continue to show voters how Big Oil’s candidates end up harming working people, our neighborhoods’ safety, and our planet.
"Educators across California are at the center of communities impacted by the corporate greed of big oil corporations,” said David B. Goldberg, President of the California Teachers Association (CTA). “It's simple: we all deserve elected leaders who will prioritize the wellbeing of our students and communities, not politicians who will do the bidding of big oil CEOs to pad their pocketbooks. We're proud to work together alongside our fellow union members and community allies to demand better for California communities. Working together, we know that our strength in numbers can defeat the incomprehensible and unsustainable wealth a few CEOs have at their disposal."
Organized as the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy California, the group led by community leaders and environmental justice organizations has grown to a massive statewide coalition organized as CAvsBigOil.com and includes doctors, nurses, faith leaders, artists, and labor organizations united to protect California from Big Oil’s toxic pollution.
For more information, please visit our website at: CAvsBigOil.com
Press Contact:Robin Swanson, robin@swansoncomm.net