[Occupymendocino] Divest from Caterpillar--a good cause. Peace and blessings, Ellen

[ELLEN ROSSER]

*
*

**
**
Divest Campaign <idc.ca.divest at gmail.com>
Jun 17 (1 day ago)
to ca.divest.sc, bcc: me
*


CAMPAIGN UPDATE – June 2013

Check out the IDC protest at CalPERS and our new campaign focusing on
Caterpillar’s complicity in Palestine and abuse of workers:
www.israeldivestmentcampaign.org

As you might already know, the “engagement process” that CalPERS initiated
with both Veolia and Elbit as a result of our campaign was suddenly aborted
in March 2013. IDC supporters protested this reversal at the May 2013
meeting of the Investment Committee. A dozen of us spoke (and at least that
many more were present in support) in protest of this sudden end to PERS’
engagement as well as its consistent refusal to hold Caterpillar
accountable. You can watch, hear and read our remarks by scrolling down to
"IDC Campaign Updates" on the home page, and selecting "Video clips and
transcripts."

While we are not letting CalPERS or CalSTRS off the hook, at the same time,
we have initiated a new campaign, emphasizing both Caterpillar’s complicity
in violations of Palestinian human rights and its direct violations of
North American worker rights.

We thank you for already signing the new appeal to the boards of various
public employee pension funds. In this regard, please let us know if you
are a member of one of the county or city public pension fund around the
state and/or a member of a public employee union.

Here are some of the ways that you can help make this new campaign
successful:

   - Visit our home page and download the fact sheet on Caterpillar’s
   abuses.
   - Encourage everyone you know to sign the appeal to the boards of the
   various public employee pension funds: www.idc-calif.org/letter.
   - Invite us to do a short presentation to your social justice groups,
   especially your union.
   - Download the resolution calling for the public pension funds to divest
   from Caterpillar and introduce it to these groups if and when you think it
   would be productive to do so. Download at: www.idc-calif.org/resolution
    or www.idc-calif.org/union-resolution.(Please feel free to discuss with
   IDC leadership.)

We thank you for your ongoing support of the Israel Divestment Campaign.

Bernie, David, Emily, Jane, Mary, Mikos, Sherna- IDC Coordinating Committee
<ca.divest.sc at gmail.com>

ca.divest.sc at gmail.com
*

*
*

*
*

*CalPERS, CalSTRS, LACERA Investments in Caterpillar*

*CalPERS CalSTRS LACERA*

*$159 million (Equities) $168.4 million (Equities), $6.million+ (Fixed
income) $2,173,466 (Equities), $7,001,243 (Fixed Income)*

*It’s time to insist that our tax dollars not be used to violate human
rights, including workers rights.*

*It’s time to call on the public employee pension funds to divest from
Caterpillar*

*Let’s tell them — Invest in human rights, not their violation!*

_____________________________________________________________________

*We Call on the Public Employee Pension Funds to Divest from Caterpillar*

*WHEREAS, *Caterpillar is complicit in Israel’s human rights and
international law violations in the occupied West Bank, including eastern
Jerusalem, and Gaza by providing it with bulldozers used in the
construction of the Apartheid Wall (“Separation Barrier”) and segregated
roads; the demolition of tens of thousands of Palestinian homes; and the
uprooting of olive orchards -- all serious violations of international law;

*WHEREAS, *Caterpillar has consistently violated the rights of North
American unionized workers, most recently by locking Canadian workers out
and closing down its Ontario plant, then paying drastically reduced wages
to “replacement workers” at the newly opened U.S. plant; and has engaged in
massive layoffs.

*THEREFORE, *we call on the public employee pension funds in which public
employees have contributed during their employment (including but not
limited to LACERA, CalPERS and CalSTRS) to begin the process of divesting
their funds from Caterpillar.

Passed by _______________________[Organization name] On:
________________________ Signed by:
________________________________/Position: _____________________
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.mcn.org/pipermail/occupymendocino/attachments/20130618/b25d6da2/attachment.html 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 6864 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.mcn.org/pipermail/occupymendocino/attachments/20130618/b25d6da2/attachment.jpe