On May 23rd, BlackRock will hold its annual shareholder meeting in New York City. Meanwhile, CODEPINK is co-sponsoring actions at BlackRock offices across the U.S. to highlight the firm’s investments in weapons, civilian and military alike.
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 a May 23 action in your area:
Dallas: BlackRock, 5910 N. Central Expy at 1:00pm
Los Angeles: Fink Center for Finance and Investments, 110 Westwood Plz at 12:00pm
New York: BlackRock’s New York office, on 51st between Park and Madison at 7:30am
San Francisco: BlackRock, 400 Howard Street at 12:00pm
Palo Alto: BlackRock Labs, 530 Lytton Ave at 11:30am
Join CODEPINK to demand that BlackRock divest from war, and stop making a killing on killing.
