February, 17 2020, 11:00pm EDT
"Stop the Money Pipeline" Announces Nationwide Day of Action to Protest the Financing of Climate Destruction
Chase, Liberty Mutual, and BlackRock Among the Top Targets for Climate Campaigners
WASHINGTON
Stop the Money Pipeline, a coalition of dozens of groups dedicated to ending the financing of climate destruction, is announcing a major Day of Action for this April 23, 2020, as part of three days of youth-led Climate Strikes around the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day.
Stop the Money Pipeline organizers are expecting hundreds of events to take place on April 23rd targeting the financial institutions who are doing the most to wreck the climate. There will be sit-ins, teach-ins, and petition deliveries at bank branches; protests outside of company headquarters; actions on university campuses; and more.
At the top of its target list is JP Morgan Chase, the largest bank financier of fossil fuels. In the three years following the Paris Climate Agreement, Chase poured over $196 billion into new fossil fuel projects, according to the Banking on Climate Change fossil fuel finance report card released by the Rainforest Action Network. Chase has come under increasing pressure from activists over the past few months, with demonstrators interrupting a recent speech by CEO Jamie Dimon in Florida this February, and nearly weekly demonstrations at bank branches across the country. The Stop the Money Pipeline campaign began with a sit-in at a Chase Bank branch in Washington, D.C. that garnered national media attention.
Other targets for the April 23rd day of action include: Liberty Mutual, a leading insurer of fossil fuel projects; BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world, who despite its recent announcements, continues to pump billions of dollars into fossil fuels and deforestation; and universities and pension funds who have failed to divest from fossil fuels. At many universities, students have given their administrations until Earth Day to divest or face protests on campus. Last week, there were divestment rallies on over 50 campuses across the country for Fossil Fuel Divestment Day.
The April 23rd Stop the Money Pipeline day of action is being organized as the second of three days of Climate Strikes that young people are planning around the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. The three days will demonstrate the growing power of the climate movement and go after the two drivers of the climate emergency: money and politics.
On Day 1 of the strikes, Earth Day, the mobilization will begin with actions designed to show the breadth and depth of the climate movement, centering the leadership of Indigenous people, frontline communities, and people of color. Day 2, Thursday, April 23, will be Stop the Money Pipeline Day, focused on ending the financing of climate destruction. Day 3, Friday, April 24, will target elected officials and include a massive voter registration push.
The April actions will be accompanied by a major online push to get individuals and institutions to ditch their banks, insurance companies, and asset managers that are fueling the climate crisis and switch to sustainable alternatives. A video of Jane Fonda cutting up a Chase credit card has already been viewed nearly a million times and inspired hundreds of comments from people saying that they're prepared to do the same if Chase doesn't stop funding fossil fuels.
The Stop the Money Pipeline Day of Action will take place just weeks before shareholder season, when JP Morgan Chase and others are expected to come under pressure from shareholders to do more to address the climate emergency. Last week, Majority Action, a member of the Stop the Money Pipeline coalition, launched a campaign to oust former Exxon CEO Lee Raymond from his position as chair of the board of JP Morgan Chase. Meanwhile, at Barclays a group of influential shareholders is pressuring the bank to cut its ties with fossil fuel firms. And all eyes will be on BlackRock and State Street, as this shareholder season is the first test of recent announcements from both asset managers that they will starting using their voting power to push companies on climate change and vote out corporate leadership that doesn't act on climate.
According to the organizers at Stop the Money Pipeline, this is just the beginning. Now that the climate movement is following the money, it won't let up until not a penny more is invested in climate destruction.
The Sierra Club is the most enduring and influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. We amplify the power of our 3.8 million members and supporters to defend everyone's right to a healthy world.
(415) 977-5500LATEST NEWS
'For the Workers, Not the Billionaires': Bernie Sanders to Join Nationwide Rallies for May Day
"Bernie knows that when the working class—labor, immigrants, community members—stand together, we are force that can defeat any bad boss," said the Philadelphia chapter of the AFL-CIO.
Apr 29, 2025
As U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders continues his nationwide Fighting Oligarchy tour, the longtime economic justice advocate is joining forces with organizers of another major mass mobilization against the "Billionaire Agenda" that has left working families struggling to afford healthcare, education, and the rising cost of living.
On Thursday, one of more than 1,100 May Day rallies will be held at Philadelphia City Hall, where Sanders (I-Vt.) will join the city's AFL-CIO chapter under the banner, "For the Workers, Not the Billionaires."
Announcing that Sanders will speak at the rally at 4:00 pm Thursday, the union said on Facebook that "Bernie knows that when the working class—labor, immigrants, community members—stand together, we are force that can defeat any bad boss... When workers fight, workers win!"
As Common Dreams reported last week, labor unions and advocacy groups are planning rallies in nearly 1,000 cities across all 50 states to mark May 1 or May Day, which commemorates the struggles and victories of the labor movement throughout history.
The events are taking place more than two months into Sanders' Fighting Oligarchy tour, during which he and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) have drawn crowds of thousands in Republican districts in Nebraska, Iowa, Idaho, and other states—addressing a total of 250,000 people, about a third of whom are not registered Democrats, according to Sanders' office.
Advocates say the tour has demonstrated the broad appeal of the progressive lawmakers' prioritizing of issues that impact working families, their demand that the Democratic Party aggressively fight the Trump agenda in any way that they can, and their rejection of billionaires' and corporations' encroachment on the U.S. political system and hoarding of wealth.
Like the Fighting Oligarchy tour, the May Day 2025 rallies aim to "unite working people across race, immigration status, and geography," according to organizers, with attendees demanding:
- An end to the billionaire takeover and government corruption, including tech mogul Elon Musk's spearheading of efforts to slash hundreds of thousands of federal jobs and dismantle agencies;
- Full funding for public schools, healthcare, and housing;
- Protection and expansion of Medicaid, Social Security, and other essential programs that have been attacked by Musk and Trump;
- A halt to attacks on immigrants, Black, Indigenous, trans, and other targeted communities; and
- Strong union protections, fair wages, and dignity for all workers.
After the May Day rally, Sanders is expected to hold events in Harrisburg and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania—located in two of the state's most competitive swing districts that are represented by Republican Reps. Scott Perry and Ryan Mackenzie.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Trump 'Took a Hatchet' to Major US Climate Report by Dismissing All Its Authors
"The only beneficiaries of disrupting or killing this report are the fossil fuel industry and those intent on boosting oil and gas profits," said one person who was working on the 6th National Climate Assessment.
Apr 29, 2025
Hundreds of scientists and experts working on the National Climate Assessment were dismissed by the Trump administration via email on Monday, casting doubt on the future of the federal government's flagship climate report, which was slated to come out by 2028.
On Monday, those working on the 6th version of the report received an email from the Trump administration that the scope of the assessment is being "reevaluated in accordance with the Global Change Research Act of 1990"—in reference to the legislation that mandated the creation of the National Climate Assessment.
"We are now releasing all current assessment participants from their roles," continued the email, the text of which was included in a Monday statement from the group the Union of Concerned Scientists.
"Today, the Trump administration senselessly took a hatchet to a crucial and comprehensive U.S. climate science report by dismissing its authors without cause or a plan," said Dr. Rachel Cleetus, a senior policy director at the Union of Concerned Scientists and an author for the 6th National Climate Assessment (NCA) on the coasts chapter, said on Monday. "People around the nation rely on the NCA to understand how climate change is impacting their daily lives already and what to expect in the future. While not policy prescriptive, the findings of previous reports underscore the importance of cutting heat-trapping emissions and investing in climate resilience to protect communities and the economy."
"The only beneficiaries of disrupting or killing this report are the fossil fuel industry and those intent on boosting oil and gas profits at the expense of people's health and the nation's economic well-being," added Cleetus.
Since entering office, Trump has signed executive orders aimed at bolstering oil, gas, and coal and installed Cabinet members with ties to the fossil fuel industry.
The assessment, which is required by Congress, has been released every few years since 2000 and gives a rundown of how global warming is impacting different sectors of the economy, ecosystems, and communities. The energy and environment focused outlet E&E Newsreported Tuesday that the report is "seen by experts as the definitive body of research about how global warming is transforming the country."
The report last came out in 2023. That National Climate Assessment established that the "effects of human-caused climate change are already far-reaching and worsening across every region" of the United States. The report's authors warned that absent deeper cuts in fossil fuel emissions and accelerated adaption efforts compared to what's currently underway, "severe climate risks to the United States will continue to grow."
Earlier in April, the Trump administration enacted cuts to the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which oversees the production of the National Climate Assessment.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Coalition of Nonprofits, Unions Launch Challenge to Trump's 'Unlawful' Attack on Government
"Americans did not vote for a power grab, nor did they vote for a federal government so hollowed out it cannot deliver the services we all rely on," said one advocate.
Apr 29, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump's dismantling of federal agencies and government programs has been a centerpiece of his second-term agenda, but as labor unions and nonprofits launched a legal challenge Monday against the president's attacks, they emphasized how the lawsuit reflects widespread public disapproval of Trump's tactics.
"Enough, already—Americans did not vote for a power grab, nor did they vote for a federal government so hollowed out it cannot deliver the services we all rely on," said Michael Wall, chief litigation officer for the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), one of nearly two dozen organizations in a coalition that filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
The groups said the suit is the "largest and most significant challenge to Trump's authority to remake the government without congressional approval."
The lawsuit was filed days after a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found that only 35% of Americans approve of tech billionaire Elon Musk's role in the Trump administration, in which he has led the so-called Department of Government Efficiency and spearheaded efforts to dismantle agencies including the Department of Education and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), cut more than 280,000 jobs, and use government data to advance baseless claims about fraud in federal programs like Social Security—supporting Republicans' push to privatize the crucial anti-poverty program.
Fifty-seven percent said they disapprove of how DOGE has proceeded, up from 49% in February.
The long list of plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed Monday reflect Trump's wide-scale attack on public services, with the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, the Western Watershed Project, and the Alliance for Retired Americans joining three of the country's largest labor unions and several local governments in arguing that Trump lacks the authority to reorganize the government without congressional approval.
The coalition, which also includes the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), is calling on the court to intervene to stop the implementation of Trump's Executive Order 14210, titled "Implementing the President's 'Department of Government Efficiency' Workforce Optimization Initiative."
The order violates the U.S. Constitution's separation of powers principles, the coalition is arguing.
"The Trump administration's reckless attempt to dismantle our government without congressional approval threatens vital services Americans depend on every day—from caring for veterans and safeguarding public health, to protecting our environment and maintaining national security," said AFGE national president Everett Kelley. "This illegal power grab would gut federal agencies, disrupt communities nationwide, and put critical public services at risk. AFGE is proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with this coalition to protect not just the patriotic public servants we represent, but the integrity of American government and the essential services that our nation deserves."
A federal judge in Maryland last month barred DOGE from taking "any actions relating" to USAID and said Musk had likely acted unconstitutionally by moving to shut down the international aid agency, and another judge temporarily blocked the advisory body from accessing sensitive data, but several federal courts, including the Supreme Court, have declined to rein in DOGE.
The coalition said the filing made clear that Congress must approve any president's efforts to remake the government.
"When the president takes for himself the legislative power of Congress to recreate federal agencies in the manner he sees fit, he violates the Constitution," reads the lawsuit, which cited Supreme Court cases including Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer and Bowsher v. Synar. "And when the president does so across every federal agency, he threatens the very constitutional foundation of this nation: 'There can be no liberty where the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person.' ... Thus, for nearly 100 years, when presidents have wanted to restructure the government by reorganizing both between and within federal agencies, they have obtained congressional authorization to do so."
Democracy Forward, which is representing the coalition, said "the impact of the reckless decisions that have been made in an attempt to unlawfully reorganize the federal government without Congress and is being felt in communities across our nation, in red states and blue states."
Lee Saunders, president of AFSCME, said the coalition was "filing this lawsuit to challenge the hostile takeover of government by billionaires and anti-union extremists."
"From the mass firings of federal employees to effectively shutting down agencies formed by Congress, this White House has repeatedly broken the law and violated the Constitution to advance their extremist Project 2025 agenda," said Saunders. "Working people deserve to know the public services they depend on will be delivered—that their food will be safe to eat and drinking water clean, that kids in school will have the resources they need to thrive, and that our communities will be able to fight public health epidemics. All these things and more are at stake if this power grab goes unchecked."
The Alliance for Retired Americans said Trump's attacks have threatened senior citizens' "right to the guaranteed benefits they have earned as well as to a fully staffed, well-functioning Social Security Administration," while Phil Francis, chair of the executive council of the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, said the loss of about 1,500 National Park Service staffers is "making an already dire situation at many national parks and program offices far worse."
"The people who have been removed by this administration help to ensure our parks are safe and accessible, and our irreplaceable resources are protected for future generations," said Francis. "Additional mass firings mean safety at parks could be compromised and visitors should expect longer lines, reduced hours of operation at facilities, trails that are not maintained, limited access to some park amenities, and far fewer park rangers to help ensure they have a safe and memorable visit to their national parks."
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, said "the size and breadth of the coalition behind this case demonstrates the wide-ranging implications of the president's unlawful behavior."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular