U.S. Chamber, a lobbying Goliath, has sided with the London-based, pollution-spewing multinational corporation British Petroleum. BP is deperately pushing to reneg on its $8.7 billion-plus settlement with coastal businesses from Louisiana to Florida who were battered by the fallout from BP’s reckless, 5-million barrel 2010 oil spill. Now, the Chamber’s determination to side with international Big Oil against salt-of-the-earth American business owners is sparking an unprecedented revolt by the rank and file. Gulf Coast chambers of commerce told the U.S. Supreme Court this week that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, does not represent them in its support of BP PLC’s challenge to the class action settlement stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In an unusual public display of disagreement with the national chamber, the local affiliates, said: “The Chamber did not seek the input nor approval of the amici affiliates, nor to our knowledge any Gulf Coast area affiliate, prior to filing its amicus brief in support of petitioner’s petition for a writ of certiorari.” In 2012, you’ll recall, BP’s own lawyers negotiated the settlement — estimated then to be worth $8.7 billion — with thousands of business owners and Gulf residents who were affected by the Deepwater Horizon spill. These plaintiffs were folks who ran motels, seafood restaurants or car rental agencies who watched tourism plummet after the spill in the spring of 2010, or thousands of others who got caught in the wider economic fallout. stuarthsmith/the-revolt-against-the-u-s-chambers-stunning-betrayal-of-main-street-america/
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 22:40:30 +0000
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