Tell VRS: No Pensions for Genocide!

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The Virginia Retirement System (VRS) is a state agency that administers pension plans, retirement savings plans, and other benefits to over 800,000 public employees across the state of Virginia, represented by more than 800 employers.

Against the will or input of its beneficiaries, the VRS invests hundreds of millions of dollars directly in weapons and shipping companies that have been responsible for the genocide in Gaza. These companies include Maersk, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, and others.

Virginians and people everywhere deserve to have their hard-earned money actually benefit themselves and the world. Join us as we demand VRS: No Pensions for Genocide!

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VRS Board of Trustees & Investment Advisory Committee

Subject: No Pensions for Genocide

Message:

Dear VRS Board of Trustees and Investment Advisory Committee, I am writing to urge you to withdraw all investments of the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) in weapons and shipping companies complicit in war and genocide, including the genocide in Gaza, which has killed over 60,000 Palestinians since October 2023. As VRS employees, managers, and advisers, you play a critical role in managing over $100 billion ostensibly to deliver "retirement and other benefits to Virginia public employees through sound financial stewardship and superior customer service." But instead of investing in companies that actually benefit Virginians and respect human rights, you have proactively chosen to invest in multinational corporations that have killed 60,000 Palestinians since October 2023 alone, not to mention millions of others in never-ending US wars all around the world. Your definition of "sound financial stewardship" is to invest over $300 million in companies that profit directly from war and genocide. The vast majority of the international community, including the United Nations and International Court of Justice, have called Israel's actions what they are: genocide. Millions of people all around the world, including in Virginia, oppose Israel's genocide in Gaza. But the atrocities we are witnessing would not be possible without the constant flow of weapons and military cargo to Israel, facilitated by companies such as Maersk. You, as stewards of the VRS, are not passive bystanders. Via your proactive decision to invest in companies like Maersk, you are actively sustaining the genocide in Gaza. There are 14 specific companies that have directly manufactured or facilitated the shipment of millions of pounds of military cargo, including weapons, to Israel. The VRS must immediately withdraw all holdings in the following companies: 1. AP MOLLER - MAERSK A/S 2. BAE SYSTEMS PLC 3. BOEING CO/THE 4. GENERAL DYNAMICS CORP 5. HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC 6. LEONARDO SPA 7. LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP 8. L3HARRIS 9. NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP 10. ROLLS-ROYCE HOLDINGS PLC 11. RTX CORP 12. TEXTRON INC 13. THYSSENKRUPP AG 14. WOODWARD INC In the name of profit and returns on investments, you have forced Virginia taxpayers to fund mass death, destruction, and ethnic cleansing without our input or consent. Divesting from these genocidal companies is not only in the interest of Virginians but also in the interest of people around the world. Fulfill your moral obligation, listen to your conscience, and end the VRS's complicity in genocide. Sincerely,

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