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Committee advances divestment resolution after hours of public testimony
Summary
Resolution 136, calling on the city retirement trustees to ensure city funds are not invested in companies the American Friends Service Committee cites for human-rights violations, earned a due-pass recommendation after more than two hours of public comment that included survivors, immigrant advocates and organizers.
The Budget and Public Employees Committee advanced Resolution 136 on Nov. 5, calling on the trustees of the City of St. Louis employee retirement system to ensure pension and retirement holdings do not include companies cited by the American Friends Service Committee for involvement in human-rights harms.
Alderman Rasheen Aldridge introduced the resolution and said it reflects the board’s earlier commitment to peace and public-health priorities. The resolution cites a NA-identified audit and urges trustees to align investments with a city policy of not profiting from violence.
The committee heard extensive testimony from dozens of speakers over two-plus hours. Speakers included local organizers with the Not Another Nickel campaign, Palestinian Americans with family members injured in Gaza, immigrant‑rights advocates, representatives of faith and community groups, and public‑sector workers. Testimony emphasized the human cost of weapons and surveillance technologies, the small share of city portfolios invested in the listed companies and the historical precedent of divestment campaigns such as those that targeted apartheid South Africa.
Alderman Aldridge moved the resolution forward with a due-pass recommendation. The committee recorded a roll-call vote in which Alderman Sonnier, Vice Chair Browning and Chair Aldrich voted aye and one member recorded a no vote; the motion carried and the committee issued a due-pass recommendation.
What’s next: Resolution 136 moves to the full Board of Aldermen. Sponsors said the request is a nonbinding directive to the retirement-system trustees and urged the board to present the resolution to those trustees and to continue public engagement during full-board consideration.
