A public relations campaign funded by U.S. labor unions and oil industry lobbyists is using a key Occupy movement rallying cry to sell TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline to the American public.

"Hollywood’s elite 1% should stop flying to DC and speaking out against jobs that help the other 99% of America!" reads a website called jobsforthe99.com. "But you CAN make your voice heard. Tell the White House to support Keystone XL."

The campaign, which includes radio and print ads, was paid for by America's Building Trades Unions and the Oil and Natural Gas Industry Labor-Management Committee.

That latter group is an alliance between labor unions and the American Petroleum Institute, itself one of the top oil industry lobbying organizations in the United States.

"I can say pretty confidently that the Building Trades Unions are flat-out co-opting [Occupy Wall Street] with their new initiative," reads a post on FireDogLake, a left-leaning political blog.

Various Hollywood actors have spoken out against the Keystone XL pipeline in recent months, including Daryl Hannah, Danny Glover, and most recently, Julia Louis-Dreyfus of Seinfeld fame.

A White House decision on the contentious project is expected by the end of the year, though the State Department said this week that delays are possible.

More than 10,000 people have signed up for an anti-Keystone demonstration in Washington, DC, this Sunday, according to tarsandsaction.org, which has been coordinating protests.

Top Canadian officials, as well as several leading oil sands producers, have said they'll ship oil to Asia, should President Barack Obama turn down the project.

"What will happen if there wasn't approval - and we think there will be - is that we'll simply have to intensify our efforts to sell the oil elsewhere," Canada's federal natural resources minister Joe Oliver reportedly said.

Geoff Dembicki reports on energy and climate issues for The Tyee.