Coalition to Rally at BlackRock Shareholders Meeting

Coalition to rally at BlackRock Shareholders Meeting

CODEPINK and allies will call on CEO Larry Fink and Shareholders to Stop Making a Killing on Killing

Press Advisory

For immediate release: May 21, 2018

For more information:     

Ariel Gold (510) 599-5330, CODEPINK National Director

Sarah Eckel-Dalrymple (202) 486-9007, CP Divest from the War Machine Campaign Manager

Taylor Rae (929) 205-2351, CODEPINK NY Organizer

Rally outside Lotte Palace Hotel and BlackRock’s Manhattan offices planned for May 23

WHAT: Rally and protest *****VISUALS FOR PHOTOGRAPHING*****

WHEN: 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 23, 2018

(in the event of inclement weather, media availability set for 8am in the BlackRock atrium on 52nd St)

WHERE:  BlackRock New York office, on 51st between Park and Madison, across from the Lotte New York Palace where the shareholders will be meeting

Representatives and allies of the anti-war movement, including CODEPINK, Action Corps NYC, The Coalition to End the U.S.-Saudi Alliance, Catholic Worker, the Community of Living Traditions at Stony Point Center, Enlace, Granny Peace Brigade, Gulf Coast Raging Grannies, Muslim Peace Fellowship, Muslims United for Justice, NYC Metro Raging Grannies, Peace Action New York State, Seeding Sovereignty, Show Up America, United for Peace and Justice, Veterans for Peace NYC Chapter 34, War Resisters League NYC, World Beyond War, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and more will protest outside the BlackRock annual shareholders meeting.

They will be protesting the world’s largest shadow bank for its practice of investing in weapons manufacturers and companies that profit from war and violence, in the U.S. and around the world. Simultaneous protests will be held outside BlackRock offices in Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Palo Alto, CA.

BlackRock is the largest asset manager in the world, controlling more than $5 trillion in assets. One of BlackRock’s iShares funds is exclusively dedicated to “defense spending” – in other words, it is a fund that exclusively profits off of weapons of war. BlackRock has $7.25 billion invested in Boeing; $3.3 billion in General Dynamics; $5.6 billion in Lockheed Martin; $3.4 billion in Northrop Grumman; and $4 billion in Raytheon.

Corporate accountability must extend to those who hold the shares of these companies. BlackRock claims to hold companies accountable, while continuing to profit off of the most morally-corrupt companies in the world.

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