On May 23rd, BlackRock will hold its annual shareholder meeting in Manhattan. CODEPINK, Action Corps NYC, The Coalition to End the U.S.-Saudi Alliance, the Community of Living Traditions at Stony Point Center, Enlace, Granny Peace Brigade, Gulf Coast Raging Grannies, Muslim Peace Fellowship, Peace Action New York State, Show Up America, United for Peace and Justice, Veterans for Peace NYC Chapter 34, War Resisters League NYC, World Beyond War, and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom are planning 3 days of activities to highlight the firm’s investments in weapons, civilian and military alike.
May 21, 6:00pm: Divest from the War Machine Teach-in at the Center for Constitutional Rights, 666 Broadway, 7th floor
May 22, 6:00pm: Art Making Party in Hell’s Kitchen, RSVP for location blackrock@codepink.org
May 23, 7:30am: Protest at BlackRock’s annual shareholders meeting at the BlackRock New York office, on 51st between Park and Madison, across from the Lotte New York Palace where the shareholders will be meeting.
Download a sign and join the protest!
BlackRock has billions of dollars invested in weapons companies such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, Elbit, and General Dynamics. They also invest in civilian gun manufacturers. They position themselves as a company that is socially responsible, yet they continue to invest in weapons. They are making a killing on killing.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said he would hold companies accountable for being responsible corporate citizens, yet his own institution continues to profit from war. BlackRock even has an iShares fund that exclusively profits off of weapons of war. We are calling on Larry Fink and BlackRock to hold themselves accountable, and demonstrate their own commitment to social responsibility by divesting from weapons makers.
In addition to contributing to the atrocities of war, all five of these companies have dozens of documented cases of misconduct and the collective misuse of billions of federal dollars. The misconduct by weapons companies ranges from groundwater contamination to labor violations and includes overinflated pricing and overbilling the federal government. These companies are flagrantly engaging in bad business practices while misusing limited federal resources.
By investing in weapons manufacturers, BlackRock is propping up wars, brutal conflicts, and human rights violations on a global scale. While BlackRock makes a killing on killing, we all pay the price exacted by companies who waste public money, pollute our environment, and send excess weapons back into our home communities.
Join us in NYC to tell BlackRock to stop making a killing on killing.
For a world without weapons,
CODEPINK NYC
