Students, parents, and citizens marched in Seattle and across the world yesterday as part of a Global Climate Strike. Amazon employees also walked out, pressuring CEO Jeff Bezos to make a new pledge to reduce his company’s emissions!
We also learned from a public disclosure request this week that the Seattle City Employees Retirement System (SCERS) “directly and indirectly owns $71.5 million in fossil fuel company stock as of mid-2019, despite the adoption of ethical guidelines that prioritize investments that positively impact climate change.” It also owns $750,000 in GEO, the private prison company that operates the Northwest Detention Center.”
Let’s honor the kids who missed school to march today and stand up for our values by asking the Mayor and your city council member to divest SCERS from fossil fuels and private prisons.
Sample Email:
Dear [Councilperson/Mayor],
I learned this week that the Seattle city pension system invests heavily in the fossil fuel industry and in private prisons – both of which fly in the face of our city’s values and endanger the planet:
Please divest the Seattle City Employee Retirement System from fossil fuels and private prisons. I plan on voting for a city council this fall that can follow through on this.
Find your district: https://www.seattle.gov/council/meet-the-council/find-your-district-and-councilmembers
Find your Councilmember’s email: https://www.seattle.gov/council/meet-the-council
Mayor Durkan’s email: [email protected]
Background:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/amazon-climate-1.5291076
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Event Today, 9/21: Protest Laura Ingraham and the Freedom Foundation
Bellevue Hyatt
5:30 PM
The extreme anti-union Freedom Foundation continues to push the boundaries into the fringes. They’ve invited white supremacist and Fox News talking head Laura Ingraham as the keynote for their annual dark-money fundraiser.
The Bellevue Hyatt has received hundreds of emails asking them to cancel Ingraham’s appearance, but has taken no action. So come out to protest and tell the Freedom Foundation and the Hyatt Regency Bellevue that hate has no place in Washington State.
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/706486849800476/
Event link: http://mlklabor.org/featured/protest-laura-ingraham-and-the-freedom-foundation
