BP Buses In 400 Workers During Obama's Visit (they leave after Obama left)

[IndianaGreen]

Source: WDSU-TV

BP Buses In 400 Workers During Obama's Visit

Jefferson Parish Councilman Calls Company's Actions 'Shameful'

POSTED: 2:18 pm CDT May 28, 2010
UPDATED: 5:21 pm CDT May 28, 2010

GRAND ISLE, La. -- Officials from Jefferson Parish claim BP bused 400 cleanup workers into Grand Isle on Friday in time for a visit from President Barack Obama.

Jefferson Parish Councilman John Young said the workers were brought in to clean oil off Grand Isle's beaches.

The extra workers were brought in for Friday only, at a rate of $12 an hour, officials told WDSU. They were mostly from Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.

Jefferson Parish Councilman Chris Roberts called BP's efforts "shameful."

"The level of cleanup and cooperation from BP in the last week in no way compares to the effort shown on the island today," Roberts said. "This is a total shame that a mockery has been made of this visit by the executives of BP."

During a visit Friday to Louisiana, Obama toured a beach where tar balls are washing ashore and attended a briefing at a Coast Guard station in Grand Isle.

Oil has been washing ashore in Grand Isle for about a week.



Read more: http://www.wdsu.com/news/23711711/detail.html

---

CNN reported that the workers left right after Obama left.

[DJ13]

1. And the MSM will (try) claim it was Obama's doing for a photo op

24/7 outrage in 5...4...3...

[babylonsister]

2. Sadly, you're probably right. I'm glad the guy who reported this

knew where to place the blame.

[IndianaGreen]

3. The blame, and the lies, are BP's own doing

BP cannot be trusted.

[ProSense]

4. There is a disconnect

Do they need the President to stand guard on the beach?

"The extra workers were brought in for Friday only, at a rate of $12 an hour, officials told WDSU. They were mostly from Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes."

This gives the impression that the locals don't care about their beaches.

There are no local or federal government officials on the beaches? Volunteers?

[girl gone mad]

6. I think the point went right over your head.

[ProSense]

8. What point?

BP lies? BP distorts? BP is criminally negligent?

Now: Are there no local or government officials and volunteers on these beaches. The notion that BP can bus in workers who leave a beach that still needs cleaning and people only make a stink about it after the President leaves is a bit suspect.

Why didn't anyone complain when the President, the governor and other officials were there?

[girl gone mad]

14. "Why didn't anyone complain when the President, the governor and other officials were there"

So you're not disputing that BP is only hiring clean up crews for show, you simply want to gin up fake outrage about the timing of the complaints in an effort to.. distract from BP's lies? Shelter BP from criticism?

What's the point of trying to change the subject like that? I guess now that the President is claiming to be in charge of the spill response, you guys have been thrust into the extremely awkward position of having to defend BP by any means possible?

I'm guessing local officials were pretty busy while the President and Governor were there. It probably took a while for them to get the word and do independent verification of BP's little publicity stunt.

[ProSense]

15. ""I'm guessing local officials were pretty busy while the President and Governor were there. "

or this.

[Raine1967]

21. +1

For this and this alone -- I am bookmarking this thread.

People Still refuse to see how deep the levels go with this disaster.

[girl gone mad]

23. Sad, isn't it?

BP only cares about appearances and now the chorus is out defending this sleazy corporation.

Weak stuff.

[girl gone mad]

22. You didn't answer any of my questions.

Apparently, the clean up didn't continue. As soon as the cameras were gone, so was BP's hired help.

[axollot]

64. That is really tacky of Jindal. Are volunteers being kept away?

We know BP has blocked reporters at times but has anyone heard of them blocking clean up? Also read studies about the pros and cons of trampling through marsh areas (i.e SB rig explosion in Cali had many volunteers yet the areas "cleaned" ended up still damaged today; uncleaned area marshes are slowly coming back.)

Jindal being sycophantic to Obama's face then dagger him in the back during a national crisis is how far the RW have fallen.

Cheers
Sandy

[flyarm]

55. yes a local councilman was reporting the scam all night last night on CNN!

are you really this dense..nahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..you are goshing us ..again!

[axollot]

62. self-delete

[Name removed]

47. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[flyarm]

54. no there were no feds or volunteers that these bussed in folks allowed to talk to ! They were

instructed not to talk to anyone!!! as reported last night, all evening, on CNN by a councilman!


Reminds me of those bussed in during the primaries..I swear to god, there are some here that play act at dumb, no matter how compelling the evidence of fraud and deceit and criminal acts!

[chill_wind]

28. The MSM is reporting that Obama vowed today before he left

to triple man-power to the Gulf.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-05-28-oil-obama-gulf_N.htm?csp=34news

After touring an oil-tainted beach here and meeting with local leaders, President Obama on Friday promised Gulf Coast residents he will not abandon the fight against the ongoing oil crisis.

"The media may get tired of the story, but we will not," he said. "We will be on your side and we will see this through."

Obama said he will triple the number of workers involved in cleaning up oiled marshes and beaches and said he sympathized with the thousands of lives the spill has impacted.




Which suggests that he knows the BP response rate has been less than needed, despite the 11th hour bustle.

I haven't watched cable. Maybe they will do that. FOX will do that for sure, but I don't think the print coverage of today's visits that I've seen so far has been unfair to Obama.

They've made this one about BP, that's clear.

[flyarm]

57. and as Carville said last night triple what?? there has been no one there to clean up a damn thing..

so tripling what ?? zero times three is still zero!
Carville was on Anderson Cooper last night discussing the triple shit last night and he was furious! And he said the people in LA have had it they are pissed big time!

There has been zero done for clean up other than the dog and pony show yesterday!

Tripling zero = zero!

[chill_wind]

61. Which is why the local parish officials felt played. Not quite zero,

they said, but they estimated about 20 workers typically before yesterday. Subcontactor tried to tell the media there had already been typically about 300 workers. Who to believe-- the local town officials or some corp tool caught like a frozen deer in the headlights.

I guess we'll find out if brand new promises translate. Don't you wonder how many from the Ashland Services buses were returned there today or near vicinities? I do.

[EFerrari]

53. If he leaves BP in charge, what is the difference?

He knows what they are.

[givemebackmycountry]

5. Fuckers...

Evil, lying, manipulative fuckers.
I'm telling you now.
We are going to have to wrestle every single dime out of them to get this shit cleaned up.
Not that it's ever going to happen.

They could give a flying fuck about anything other than PROFITS.

FILTHY, STINKING, ROTTEN, FUCKING MONEY!

[Iliyah]

7. and

a CNN reporter saw some of them having lunch, I see the media is petty petty petty, this is complete bull shit!

[chill_wind]

9. Yeah, BP doesn't manipulate shit for the cameras.

At least they weren't there screaming at Obama not to touch the tar balls or yell (as responsible humanitarians of course) at where everyone was stepping.

[doublethink]

10. Old trick Big Retailers ..... probably still use .... (former employment of mine)

When the 'big wigs' Corporate Management came into town to inspect the stores, the store managers would over-staff the night before ... and the day of their visit ..... to make things look squeaky clean and in control to the extreme. Then when the Corporate Managers would leave town .... we would have to cut hours on store employees to make up for the overtime etc ... for the rest of the week, month or whatever. It really sucked and left the stores shorthanded to serve our customers. Guess this practice is used in the Corporate Empire world wide ...... not just retail .... :eyes:

on edit: to add ..... yes it was all 'for show' ..... the stores would go to shit quickly .... understaffed, etc.. etc... and Corporate Management would never-ever see how a 'real store' operated from day to day. Point being ..... BP is being deceptive to the President ..... in the same way.

[Downwinder]

27. That comes from the military. Typical inspection routine.

[cactusfractal]

11. Screw them and their Potemkin workforce....

Makes me wonder: what's the spillcam really looking at?

[charlesg]

12. Our values: BP is progressive, responsible

- BP website

[ProSense]

13. Here's another report

Hundreds of workers hit the beaches ahead of Obama's visit, cleaning debris from the shoreline before they hopped on buses and left soon after the president arrived.

"This is the cleanest I've ever seen the beach," Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said. "We saw a surge of activity the last couple of days. Let's hope it continues now that he's gone."

link

So the workers left before the President did, the beach is clean and Jindal and Louisiana politicans are still playing politics.

[chill_wind]

19. And here are some others and No - they didn't leave before the President did

according to the Times- Picayune report.

BP, the oil company taking flak for its inconsistent response to the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, bused in 400 extra cleanup workers to Grand Isle during President Obama's visit today, Jefferson Parish Council Chairman John Young said.

"It appears to have been a PR stunt by BP, not to say we don't appreciate the extra participation," Young said. "We certainly need them, but we don't need them for just one day that happens to coincide with a visit from the president."

Obama made his second visit today to Louisiana's oil-stricken coast, stopping in Grand Isle and Port Fourchon.

Young said he saw the workers dressed in red shirts, blue jeans and black shrimp boots mulling across the beaches and in the mess hall during the president's appearance. They were uniformed in a way "which you don't normally see workers dressed like that," Young said.

After Obama's departure, Young said, the work crews all but vanished.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_ts2320

Or according to this:

Jefferson Parish Councilman Chris Roberts, whose district encompasses Grand Isle, told Yahoo! News that BP bused in "hundreds" of temporary workers to clean up local beaches. And as soon as the president was en route back to Washington, the workers were clearing out of Grand Isle too, Roberts said.

"The level of cleanup and cooperation we've gotten from BP in the past is in no way consistent to the effort shown on the island today," Roberts said by telephone. "As soon as the president left, they were immediately put back on the buses and sent home."

Roberts says the overnight contingent of workers was there mainly to furnish a Potemkin-style backdrop for the event — while also making it appear that BP was firmly in command of spill cleanup efforts.

New Orleans NBC affiliate WDSU reports that the workers were paid $12 an hour and came mostly from neighboring Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_ts2320

It was just a huge co-incidence, according to BP subcontactor.



"It had nothing to do with the president coming to town,'' Nalty said. "It was 100-percent coincidental. All the allegations to the contrary are false.''

:rofl: :rofl:

[hulka38]

44. +1

Thanks for refuting this latest attempt at disinformation and confusion.

[Shining Jack]

48. +1

:toast:

[chill_wind]

73. Times- Picayune link (for the record)

http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2010/05/bp_ships_in_clean-up_crews_to.html

For text that I quoted, but gave wrong link.

[WestSeattle2]

16. That is so lame! It would be funny if the catastrophe was not

so deadly serious. BP shareholders need to send a message - replace all senior management - now. The ineptitude and display of horrifically poor decision making of current management, boggles the mind.

[femrap]

17. They pulled a 'bush'....

remember when he went to NO and there was electricity and then he left and POOF...all the electricity was gone!

At least MSM is reporting this. Fucking BP. Fill charges NOW!

[secondwind]

18. DIDN'T OBAMA LEAVE AROUND 5:45 P.M.? what do they want? that they should work in the dark?

[chill_wind]

20. This isn't passing the laugh test with the locals.

They live there. They've seen the patterns of the workers and they are furious.

[eilen]

24. It doesn't get dark until aroung 8... and what exactly does BP have to do

to piss you off? Throw tar balls at your kids?

[flyarm]

31. it's not dark till almost 9 pm! eom

[Wednesdays]

50. What's more, there's a certain something that's been around since 1879

...that makes it light outside, even at night-time! :think:

[ooglymoogly]

71. You know when I read your post, a bright, primitive light bulb

appeared over my head. Spooky

[Lerkfish]

43. are you defending BP?

I think its clear this was orchestrated by BP, not Obama.

so I can only conclude your'e defending BP here.The question is why?

[JoeyT]

59. So that later they can refer to this as a

"debunked" rumor. Of course the debunking fails on multiple levels, but truth doesn't really matter.

Obama trusts BP + Obama can never be wrong = BP are the good guys and any evidence to the contrary is a lie.

[From The Ashes]

46. It gets dark at 6pm?

'round these parts it's closer to 8:15. :shrug:

[poverlay]

66. I guess people would rather be upset than logical, or attentive. The guy at the newsconference

said exactly what you did. These people have been working all day in the hot sun. It was time for them to go home. Tomorrow they'll be at another place that needs help. To think that BP, or whoever, is trying to save money by not doing the cleanup is ridiculous. Even hundreds of people at $12. an hour, working for months is likely one of the cheapest parts of this whole mess.
When did most American citizens turn into a bunch of angry, whiny complainers with no patience?

[wordpix]

25. BP stands for Blowout Phelons -& what kind of junk does their junk shot consist of?

tires, golf balls, toxic waste, toxic dispersants---this corp is getting rid of anything and everything they and other criminal enterprises don't want.

I'm surprised their stock price is above $0

http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/BP

After hours 42.91
Last Trade -0.04 (-0.09%)
After Hours Change
*
276,810
Volume 7:59:54 PM EDT
After Hours
42.95
Close Price -2.43 (-5.35%)
Change
*
31,577,902
Volume 4:02:50 PM EDT
Market Close

[Art_from_Ark]

42. Blatantly Pretentious

Bigass Polluters
British Prevaricators

[lonestarnot]

26. BP should have to pay all the out of work fishermen, if they even want to clean up after big oil

Bunghole Polstice. Better yet, they should be paid what they can stubstantiate in earnings from last year with a COLA for this year, or better yet the rate at which seafood will cost this year by Bunghole Polstice, plus a COLA to do whatever the fuck they want to do in the effort toward saving any portion of the gulf that can be saved, or is saving anything just a pipedream?

[flyarm]

51. some have been written checks for $5,000. bucks..chicken shit compared to what they made in the

height of their fishing season!

Try living on $5,000. bucks for the year!

They already had a colder than normal winter..as reported last night on CNN!

[johnaries]

29. OK, maybe I was just dreaming or hallucinating, but I swear I remember

driving home from work listening to NPR and they were talking about the new CEO of BP. This was a big deal because the old CEO was majorly "green" and wanted BP to invest heavily into future green technology. He was also behind the advertisements that I remember so well and some of you may remember - you know, with the dancers dressed as flowers, hills, etc. Also, the drivers pulling into BP sites and bouncing their heads to the music because they "felt good" about buying BP products because BP was working toward green energy.

And then I heard this report on NPR - basically the old "green" CEO was out, and the new CEO rejected all of the "greenie crap" and wanted to give investors immediate results.

I went from loving BP to hating them in an instant.

And to all the BP investors who were looking for immediate results....

How's that working for ya?

[Blue_Tires]

30. i remember that short-lived campaign

i wondered whatever happened to it...

[SleeplessinSoCal]

32. B eyond P ompous

[SargeUNN]

33. don't pay attention to me I only have 50 years in the area to form this

I can tell you the midday in the area is extremely hot and can be humid. I coached and had practices early morning and in the evenings to avoid dehydration and such and many businesses don't let workers outside work in this time period due to the heat. I have heard this was the case and from my experience it is most likely true. Of course I only lived there for over half a century so don't give too much credibility to my statement.

[chill_wind]

34. Oh lookie. Here's a *recruitment ad for busing in 500 workers on 5/27.*

Googling what some locals were reporting about radio recruitment ads the day before...


Clean Up Positions
Terrebonne Parish Administration Thursday, May 27, 2010

Ashland Services, LLC needs 500 workers to assist with the oil spill cleanup in Grand Isle. Recruitment is taking place today, Thursday, May 27, 2010 only at 7528 Main Street (old unemployment office).

Workers will be paid $12.00 per hour and are expected to work 14 hour days 7 days a week. Transportation to Grand Isle, breakfast and lunch will be provided daily. All required safety gear will be provided by Ashland Services, LLC.

http://www.tpcg.org/view.php?f=main&p=news&i=192

Ashland Services, LLC
http://ashlandservicesllc.com/services.html

Chris Roberts, Councilman, Jefferson Parrish (video clip) tells CNN up until today about 20 workers were typical. The bussed in workers said they were not allowed to say where they were from? Dumb.

http://www.mediaite.com/online/sham-workers-bp-bussed-in-clean-up-crew-for-president-obamas-gulf-visit/

What's ultimately important is that they will now keep coming back. Right?

[defendandprotect]

35. It's always about PR, isn't it -- !!

[chill_wind]

36. Very stupid PR. In this DU thread- they are BUSTED.

[IndianaGreen]

37. It is more than PR! BP is gaming future litigation

this is why BP gets the FAA to ban flights of reporters over the spill, so that when it comes to court time, BP can claim the spill was not as large.

[CoffeeCat]

38. Parish official: BP Shipped in Workers For President's Visit

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- A Gulf Coast official accused BP of shipping workers into Grand Isle, Louisiana, for President Barack Obama's visit to the oil-stricken area Friday and sending them away once the president left the region.

Early Friday morning, "a number of buses brought in approximately 300 to 400 workers that had been recruited all week," Jefferson Parish Councilman Chris Roberts told CNN's "Situation Room."

Roberts said the workers were offered $12 an hour to come out to the scene at Grand Isle and work in what he called a "dog and pony show."

But, when Obama departed, so did the workers, he said, adding that he's never seen more than 20 workers at the Grand Isle cleanup site since the effort started.

(snip)

Roberts told CNN's Anderson Cooper the hundreds of workers who showed up early Friday wouldn't speak to local emergency management officials.

"The sheriff's office did manage to get one person to speak with them and that individual said they were hired yesterday and told to report to a staging area at 7:30 this morning," Roberts added. "It just doesn't add up."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/05/28/gulf.oil.spill.bp/index.html?hpt=T1

---

When do the lies and the fakery stop with BP, and when do they
really get serious about their paradigm-shifting disaster? These
people are playing games.

[Angry Dragon]

39. I just shake my head and wonder

if anyone is going to really pay a price for murder and destruction besides the good people that live and work along the coast.

Three to four years ago I spent some time on the coast in and around Gulfport and Biloxi and treated well.

[CoffeeCat]

40. It appears that BP is only...

...legally liable a certain amount of monetary damages. I read that the
formula is for every barrel of oil spilled, the company is fined $1,000.

That's why they were underestimated the leak. They figured that if they
low balled how many barrels per day that were leaking--they'd have to
fork over less money.

The greed just never ends.

They should pay for every DAMN consequence, so questions asked.

[aquart]

41. Which tells that even they know they're doing a half-assed job on cleanup.

I have the most vile violent wishes for BP management and directors. But especially for dear, lying, weasel Hayward.

[chill_wind]

49. Exactly. Apparently it requires a press media with cameras fully-trained on them

to get them to even sweat even a little.

FREE THE PRESS and the camera weapons! Let em at BP. As Indiana Green said, they are intent on gaming the litigation.

[polichick]

45. That's why the gov't has to take over clean-up and bill bp for...

...thousands of workers on duty 24/7

[flyarm]

52. yeah count on that when they are all up to their eyeballs in oil money from BP!

please breathe and don't hold your breath.

Those of us on the Gulf coast have been screaming to our government from the get go about the crooks at BP!

where has it gotten us?

oh yeah with dead birds , and turtles and fish and oil balls and stinking air to breathe!

[ooglymoogly]

56. BP shure knows the way to a mans heart.

It is odd, that folks here, think that with the herculean security surrounding the president that O and his security, did not know exactly what was happening and exactly who was on the beach while he was there and where they were from. The path he took, all surrounding area that could hold any risk to the president, had to be carefully sanitized, as to safety and risk, before his arrival. Someone had to vouch for the risk factor of everyone on the beach. In the end it is all dumb show and noise and photo ops, where powerful politicians are concerned. Why BP was involved in this kabuki is, altogether, another, very questionable, matter.

[flyarm]

58. you have that exactly right..this white house knew it was a dog and pony show!

I have worked on many pres campaigns and i have worked volunteers and security for those volunteers..and each and every volunteer must be cleared with the secret service..even while running for pres!

[Milford81]

60. The BP execs need a top kill put on them

or maybe we could put a tappered topkill on top of an oil drum then place a BP exec on top of that top kill ass first then use a crane tied to the BP exec to move him up and down repeatedly. I know it wont stop the oil GUSH not spill, but it will help everyone else feel better.:patriot:

[FlaGatorJD]

63. This new story seems to impy that Obama sent the workers there

for his visit, and that when he left, they would leave.

www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIXWYBTpLtSayJtg41LKXpxSxVPAD9G0M3BO3

Note Jindal's quote near the bottom.

[Robeson]

65. Why does a Potemkin Village come to mind.

[ooglymoogly]

70. Except that here on this site, while there is only one Potyomken, the fauning Katherines are legion

and their eyes just become wider with each shining, new "village"

[Optimistic]

67. It is Time to Sieze BP oil

Take it over, arrest, Try, Convict and Execute the Board of Directors and also Seize the Companies assets,

[GreenTea]

68. Despicable, always selfish, greedy, lying deceitful cutting-corners corporations!

[Berserker]

69. Obama

I love ya man but call this kind of shit out.

[Kringle]

72. oil well blowout, not on FEMA's list of disasters

they seem kinda slow on the uptake

http://www.fema.gov/news/disasters.fema
http://www.fema.gov/news/disasters_state.fema?id=22