Tell Seattle City Council to say No to war and militarism. Divest all assets from the War Machine!

Dear Seattle City Council,

In 2016, the U.S. spent $741.3 billion on foreign and domestic militarism. That’s 64% of the federal discretionary budget. $304 billion went directly to corporations. 43 million people in the U.S. live in poverty or who qualify as low-income, whose needs could and should be met by the money spent on weapons.

Cities across the country are uniting their voices to decry this profit-centered and war-driven allocation of funds and call for divestment from the war machine. Seattle has a responsibility to help set the standard for what it means for city to live its values.

In 2017, Seattle voted to divest from Wells Fargo due to its managing of assets with the Dakota Access Pipeline, given its role in the climate crisis and human rights violations. This shows what is possible when a city unites to stand for peace and human rights, and we urge the city to follow this brave move by fully divesting from arms manufacturers.

Building on this, Seattle must divest public funds from weapons companies. I urge you to commit to work with the Seattle City Council to pass a resolution to:

1. Make no new investments in nuclear and conventional weapons producers. City funds come from the public, and should be held accountable to the desires of the City’s residents.
2. Sell existing investments tied to these companies within 1–2 years. The City should assess its holdings, pull any stocks that support the manufacture of weapons, and work to get rid of stocks, bonds, or investment funds that are invested in major arms producers. New requests for investment should also be declined. The City should apply this divestment strategy to all of the City’s activities: commercial banking, investment banking and asset management. All of these activities actively assist a company in the production of weapons.
3. Adopt a Socially Responsible Investment Policy and reinvest in clean, life-affirming solutions. The City should adopt a policy prohibiting investment in weapons producing companies. When reinvesting assets, the City should make deliberate choices about how money is invested — and should make those choices represent values of sustainability, community empowerment, action on climate, establishment of a renewable energy economy, and more.

Yours sincerely,