Protesters take to skies asking Google to quit U.S. Chamber
SumOfUs.org flies plane bearing banner "Google: Quit the Chamber" over its policies on climate change and campaign finance.
The skies over Mountain View will bear a message of protest today aimed at Google: quit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
SumOfUs.org, a nonprofit that has been campaigning for corporations to end their financial support of the Chamber, said it would fly a plane over the Googleplex Monday at noon with a trailing banner that reads "Google: Quit the Chamber."
The group opposes the Chamber for reasons including its opposition to climate change legislation and its support for anonymous corporate spending on elections. It has mounted similar campaigns designed to get Microsoft, IBM and Pepsi to quit the Chamber.
SumOfUs launched its petition drive against Google's involvement with the Chamber last year. The company reportedly was considering quitting, in part over the Chamber's support of the Stop Online Piracy Act, which technology companies widely opposed.
Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman, executive director of OneOfUs, said Google's recent role in forming the Internet Association lobbying group demonstrated its conflicts with the Chamber over issues affecting technology companies.
"That to me is a sign they're trying to find alternatives," she said. "What we're trying to tell them is, it's time."
A delegation will also visit the campus today to deliver 270,000 signatures calling for an end to Google's involvement with the Chamber.
Google did not respond immediately to a request for comment.