PHILADELPHIA, PA, US – Today, Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke’s (At Large) resolution calling on the City of Philadelphia Board of Pensions and Retirement to consider divestment from nuclear weapons passed City Council. The resolution urges the City to weigh the threat that nuclear weapons pose to all of humanity and our environment in light of the Trump administration’s decision to restart testing of nuclear weapons and proposal to build a nuclear-powered submarine right here in Philadelphia. It calls on the City of Philadelphia Board of Pensions and Retirement to invest in what our residents need such as safe and healthy homes, affordable transit, working utilities, and childcare, rather than weapons that threaten life on our planet.
The resolution was championed by the Divest Philly from the War Machine Coalition. Founded in 2019, the Divest Philly from the War Machine Coalition consists of 29 organizations raising awareness about the dangers of nuclear weapons and advocating for the City of Philadelphia to divest the Pension Fund from nuclear weapons.
“It is a moral obligation for the City of Philadelphia to invest in what our residents need,” said Councilmember O’Rourke, of the goal behind the resolution. “Such as safe and healthy homes, affordable transit, working utilities, childcare, and more, rather than weapons that threaten life on our planet.”
“This is a huge step forward in this grassroots campaign to compel the Pension Board to divest from these weapons of Mass Destruction,” said David Gibson, Co-Coordinator for Peace, Justice, Sustainability NOW! (PJSN). “We are grateful for all the Council members who voted for this resolution and their brave service to the people of the City of Philadelphia and beyond. Everywhere we go residents of the City agree with us and sign our statement calling for divestment from nuclear weapons. With the passage of this resolution, we expect to receive a positive response from the Pension Board regarding screening out nuclear weapons from the portfolio.”
“The Greater Philadelphia Branch of Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has advocated for nuclear abolition for nearly 80 years,” said Tina Shelton, Chair of Greater Philadelphia Branch of WILPF. “We currently see an increased emphasis on the false dialogue that we do not have resources for human needs. In fact, according to Reaching Critical Will, a report on the UN meetings for disarmament, there has been record-high military spending and military solutions are being prioritized over social and economic justice. This step towards moral investments that weigh the impact of nuclear threat on all Philadelphia residents and beyond is celebrated as way to live up to Philadelphia’s obligations as a member of Mayors for Peace (joined in 1985) and show other US cities that investing in a nuclear-free world is the financially wise decision in addition to being moral and just.”
“We should all celebrate the long, hard, and ongoing work of people in Philadelphia to allow retirees’ who have contributed careers to the betterment of the world to not have to depend for their incomes on the sale of nuclear weapons. The global and multifarious movement to reduce and eliminate the risk of apocalyptic war is strengthened by every successful divestment — advancing the arrival of that day when investment in weapons of mass destruction will be the exception rather than the norm,” said David Swanson, Executive Director of World BEYOND War.
“The Philadelphia Public Banking Coalition is grateful for the resolution passed by Council today urging the Pension Board to divest from nuclear weapon components and systems manufacturing,” said Stan Shapiro, member of the Philadelphia Public Banking Coalition. “These death dealing instruments have no place in a pension fund whose purpose is to support human life, not end it. In our view, however, nuclear divestment should not be followed by reinvestment into other questionable instruments that do nothing for the people of our City. Instead, the Board should re-invest money coming out of instruments of war into financially prudent projects right here in Philadelphia that advance the interests and needs of the people of our City.”
“The Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP) has participated in the Divest Philadelphia from the War Machine Coalition since it was founded in 2019,” said Chris Robinson, a member of GPOP. “One of the Green Party’s Four Pillars is peace, so we give hearty support to every effort for disarmament.”
Jean Haskell, member of Granny Peace Brigade Philadelphia, issued the following statement: “Thank you Councilmember O’Rourke for introducing the resolution calling on the City Pension Fund to consider divesting from nuclear weapons. Thank you, City Council members, for supporting this resolution today. For 20 years, the Granny Peace Brigade Philadelphia has called on local and national legislators to support efforts to rid the world of nuclear weapons. For 20 years we have described the horror that a nuclear war would bring to our citizens and our planet. Most recently, we have called on legislators to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), a treaty that was signed and ratified by 122 nations, none of which actually possess nuclear weapons. The United States was the first country in the world to drop a nuclear type bomb. We believe it is now time for our country to lead the way to ridding the world of nuclear weapons and the enormous threat they impose. We applaud City Council for taking this important step today.”
