A PayPal office in El Paso? Rep. Peter Svarzbein heads the effort to make it happen
There’s a chance Charolette’s loss is El Paso’s gain, or so that’s what a group of people are hoping. This comes after the online payment system, PayPal, chose not to build its new global operations center in North Carolina.
Now the goal is to get them to come here.
It all began when PayPal found out North Carolina passed a new transgender law. The law would ban people from using a public bathroom that doesn’t match their biological sex. PayPal was so offended, it pulled the entire facility and all 400 jobs.
“I tend to wake up in the morning and go online and look at different blogs,” said District 1 City Rep. Peter Svarzbein.
Svarzbein says a light bulb went off. Why not invite the PayPal with its well-paying jobs to the borderland?
“And I thought, wouldn’t this be a great opportunity to talk about all those great things that El Paso has?” Svarzbein said. “About how we’re the opposite of that kind of discrimination and how we’ve had a history of being tolerant.”
Once Svarzbein put the idea out there, Congressman Rep. Beto O’Rourke picked it up. He tweets “Hey @PayPal looking for a great new way to expand? El Paso has a proud history of leading on Civil Rights,” while posting a picture of the ’66 Miners.
“We can no longer just sit back and wait for business to come here,” Svarzbein said. “We need to be proactive.”
Svarzbein is working to get traction on social media. Posting #PayPal or tagging @PayPal on social media posts gets the companies attention. Amigo Man even sent them a formal invitation. Svarzbein is asking you do the same.
“Whether its to get a whole foods in El Paso, or a Trader Joe’s, whether its to get PayPal to come here,” Svarzbein said. “This kind of grassroots effort does make a difference.”
The city stands behind him, and he hopes PayPal representatives can come and visit the sun city for themselves. ABC-7 asked Svarzbein if by inviting Paypal, we’re promising the company El Paso will never have a law like the transgender bathroom policy in Charolette.
He says he doesn’t believe El Paso would put something like that on the books, although PayPal is making a statement for leaving North Carolina, the company is being criticized for opening an office in Malaysia, a nation that consistently ranks among the least LGBT-friendly in the world.
We reached out to PayPal to see what they think. They wrote in an email:
“With the decision to cancel our plans to expand into North Carolina, PayPal will immediately begin a search for a new location for our operations facility. As we evaluate our options for expanding into new locations, we will continue to consider what is best for PayPal, its customers and its employees.”
