An aldermanic resolution calling on the City of St. Louis’ retirement system to divest from companies that profit from war found approval today—but not before things got heated. Ten members of the board voted for Alderman Rasheen Aldridge’s non-binding resolution. Three voted present and one no.
The resolution was inspired by the Not Another Nickel campaign, a pro-Palestinian activist group calling for investments to be directed away from Israel and companies that make money off armaments. The campaign swiftly issued a press release declaring that St. Louis had just become the largest city in the United States to pass a resolution divesting from corporations complicit in human rights violations.
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Aldridge said that research conducted by the campaign found that the city’s retirement board had money invested in 17 companies deemed to be “complicit in perpetuating violence against people within our city or abroad.” The 17 companies identified by the group include Boeing, one of the region’s biggest employers, as well as Chevron, Caterpillar, and Lockheed Martin. Aldridge noted that the city had only around 1 percent of its total investment portfolio in these companies, but that passing the resolution would show that “St. Louis is a city ready to stand, not on war, but on peace.”
Several dozen activists showed up to the meeting cheering on the resolution and at times jeering against Alderwoman Sharon Tyus, the only official to push back vociferously against it. (Despite the vocal opposition, she was not its lone “no” vote; that was Alderman Matt Devoti.)
Tyus referenced local people who have their livelihoods and retirements intertwined with companies on that list of 17. She didn’t mention Boeing specifically, though that clearly seemed to be what she was referencing. She also asked Aldridge about the notion that some of these companies’ weapons were being used for defense. “They had many world wars, before your time and even before mine, in which people went to war to defend democracy, and the right for freedom,” she said. “What do we do about that?”
Aldridge said that he was more concerned with what he termed to be “literally a genocide” in Gaza. Tyus retorted that to understand the Israel and Palestinian conflict you have to go back to 1948 and get into some history that’s “not very pretty.” She said she resented pro-Palestinian activists for shutting down a meeting in 2024 when aldermen were debating a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East. “I don’t want to be drug in the Palestinian war with Israel.”
“Over in my neighborhood, the people who are creating the most terror are the Palestinians who run the gas stations and are having shootings and killings. It’s hard for me to feel sad or upset,” she said. “You’re talking about a war, but I feel like there’s a war on my corners.” She said she feels like she regularly drives through a shooting gallery thanks to the pernicious influence of the gas stations.
Both Aldridge and Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier pushed back against Tyus. Sonnier said that she hoped that if the schools and churches of St. Louis were being bombed, “there would be people in other places that would speak up.” Aldridge, who just a week ago had credited a different argument from Tyus at helping sway his vote on tax incentives, called her ignorant and compared her to President Donald Trump.
Alderman Matt Devoti had much more measured reservations about Aldridge’s resolution, saying he supported its spirit but that he had questions about whether what the resolution was calling for could even be done: “We haven’t heard from the experts in this case.”
To Devoti’s point, the board of trustees of the Employees Retirement System that the resolution is directed to are supposed to be above politics, tasked with running the system in order to prevent elected officials from trying to direct the city’s investment money in a way that might benefit them. City Hall insiders predicted the board wouldn’t change its investments based on the resolution. Aldridge himself said he’d only been in contact with a lawyer for the board, not the actual board members.
Also, the resolution doesn’t even address the retirement funds of the city’s firefighters or police officers, which are outside the purview of the Employees Retirement System. City budget director Paul Payne confirmed to SLM that at least in the case of the firefighters, they have some money in their retirement fund invested in Boeing through broad index funds.
After today’s meeting, Aldridge was asked what next steps could be if the retirement system doesn’t act on the resolution. He said he’d defer to Not Another Nickel.
“This is their campaign, and I stand 10 toes down with them. Whatever the next step is, if it’s shutting down City Hall, if it’s shutting down the next meeting that they have, whatever. I stand ready to organize and plan with them,” said Aldridge.
Hear more on this story from Ryan Krull on The 314 Podcast.
