UFCW Western States Council Stands with Campaign for a Safe and Healthy California in Working to KEEP THE LAW Protecting Neighborhoods from Toxic Drilling
SACRAMENTO, CA – Today the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy California announced an endorsement from United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Western States Council. UFCW Western States Council joins a growing list of supporters for the campaign, reinforcing the unified effort to KEEP an historic law (SB 1137) preventing toxic oil drilling in neighborhoods.
UFCW Western States Council represents over 200,000 workers in California, Arizona, and Nevada, and advocates for better wages, benefits, and working conditions to improve the livelihoods of all workers. Toxic oil drilling in California communities is a serious threat to public health, especially to those working in close proximity to oil drilling.
“As advocates for the well-being of our communities and the workers who power them, we stand firmly with the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy California,” said Amber Parrish, Executive Director, UFCW Western States Council. “We want to protect public health while keeping our members who work in close proximity to drill sites safe and healthy. We remain committed to fighting for better working conditions and a healthier environment for all Californians.”
Big Oil has been working to repeal a law (SB 1137) that would make existing oil and gas wells safer by meeting tighter health and environmental requirements within 3,200 feet of neighborhoods, schools, daycare centers and healthcare facilities, and keeping new wells from being built in these areas. To try and overturn this public safety law, oil companies have placed a deceptive measure on the November 2024 ballot.
Nearly 30,000 oil and gas wells in California sit within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, hospitals and other public areas, exposing nearly 3 million people, disproportionately communities of color, to emissions that can cause birth defects, respiratory illnesses and cancer. An independent scientific advisory panel in 2021 advised California officials that a 3,200-foot setback between oil wells and sensitive receptors is the minimum distance to protect public health.
“KEEP THE LAW” Campaign endorsers include public health groups, community and faith organizations, and environmental justice leaders from across California, working to hold oil companies accountable for creating a public health crisis, especially for communities of color.
Press Contact:Robin Swanson, robin@swansoncomm.net