350PDX Weekly Update – Follow the Money – May 5 2021

Hi everyone,

Did you know that Oregon’s State Treasury has billions of dollars invested in fossil fuels? And over $100 million of that is currently invested in coal? Our Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) is where the vast majority of those funds come from.

State Treasurer Tobias Read was elected to be our voice in how state money is managed and invested. If corporate boards of directors refuse to pull out of fossil fuel investments, end deforestation, and stop human rights abuses, Treasurer Read can vote to remove those directors. Treasurer Read can also protect state funds by withdrawing our money from risky fossil fuel investments.

Just recently, the state of New York recently began divesting their $226 billion pension fund from fossil fuels. Why can’t Oregon?

We Need You!

Tonight May 5th at 7-8 pm, folks like you from more than 30 organizations from all over Oregon are converging online to ask Treasurer Read how he plans to invest the billions of dollars under the management of the State Treasury. Oregonians want investments that will ameliorate climate change and help build a sustainable future for Oregon and the rest of the planet. The bigger the attendance, the bigger the impact we’ll have, and any unanswered questions will be sent to Treasurer Read after the event. Register now for the May 5th event to have your voice heard! Learn more details about how the Oregon Treasury is invested on the Event web page.

What: Climate Justice Q&A with Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read
When: TONIGHT Wednesday, May 5th at 7-8 PM
Where: Virtual – after registering you will receive a confirmation email with information on how to join.
Who: Open to the Public
Sponsors:  350PDX and 40 Co-Sponsors Statewide
More info: Event Web page

Here’s your 350PDX weekly update.

Actions

All these actions and more can be found on our website’s Take Action page – 350pdx.org/action

• Puppeteers needed tomorrow!

  The 350PDX Arts Team needs 5 puppeteers for a forest of 8′ tree puppets for the Rally for What’s Left in Salem on Thursday afternoon 3:30PM – 5:00PM. No experience needed, it’ll just be holding some trees and walking around a bit! Please contact Donna Murphy: murph1949@aol.com.

• Tell City Council to fund Portland Street Response!

  Portland Street Response is a system of first responders – teams of medics and peer support specialists with training in de-escalation – who can respond to 911 calls about people struggling with homelessness and behavioral health crises instead of police. The Mayor’s proposed budget only funds an expansion of the current Lents pilot to support an additional team. We need to see a commitment to continue to build Portland Street Response city-wide, by supporting the $4.2 budget proposed by Portland Fire and Rescue. You can submit written testimony to City Council or email the mayor and city commissioners asking that they fund Portland Street Response citywide in 2021!

Updates

• We’re hiring! Communications Manager

  We are hiring for a new position at 350PDX, a Communications Manager. The position is half time with the opportunity to become full time at the start of 2022. Read the job description here and feel free to share with anyone you know who might be a good fit for the role. Priority application deadline is May 12 2021.

• We’re (also) hiring! Finance & Operations Manager

  We’re also looking for a fulltime Finance & Operations Manager. Read the job description here and feel free to share with anyone you know who might be a good fit for the role. Priority application deadline is May 12 2021.

Opportunities​​​​

• Rally to Protect What’s Left – Pump the Brakes on Post-Fire LoggingTOMORROW Thurs May 6, 4:00PM – 5:30PM, OnlineAs communities across Oregon continue to rebuild after the 2020 fire season, timber corporations and ill-equipped agencies are clearcut-logging large swaths of fire-burned public lands. Places like the Santiam Canyon, McKenzie and North Umpqua rivers have recently been transformed by rampant post-fire logging.In a changing climate, these activities will worsen drought, make wildfire hazard more severe, and fuel climate change.

  And this is only the beginning of the logging planned.

  RALLY WITH US TO PROTECT WHAT’S LEFT!
  *Please wear a mask and practice social distancing

  —Listen to the stories of Oregonians impacted by the 2020 fire season
  —Learn about the landscape of post-fire logging happening now
  —Look at photography and artwork of our forests after the fires
  —Live art-build with Roger Pete, Just Seeds Collective
  —Professional photography of the fires by Michael Hudson and Michael Sherman

  *Our communities deserve intact landscapes and clean drinking water!

  *We CAN have vibrant local economies and healthy forests & watersheds.

  Rally Covid Mutual Agreements:
  We are asking that everyone joining this event agree to wear a mask to prevent the spread of covid variants, regardless of personal vaccination status.
  We will have extra KN95s and sanitizer on hand to share.
  There will also be a volunteer medic team present.

• Stop Line 3 Day of ActionFri May 7, 12:00PM – 1:00PM, Chase Bank at 112th and Halsey (1515 NE 112th Ave)Extinction Rebellion PDX Organized Action: Water Protectors are taking almost daily direct action to stop the construction of the toxic Line 3 tar sands pipeline: locking themselves inside sections of pipe, blockading entrances to construction sites, even using pianos to stop construction. On the frontlines, more than 240 people have now been arrested for taking bold direct action to stop the construction of Line 3. Major banks ― such as JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, CitiBank and TD Bank ― have loaned billions of dollars to Enbridge so it can build Line 3.We are targeting Chase Bank which has $1.8 billion with Enbridge and is one of the greatest funders of fossil fuel projects in general. Those banks are profiting from the Line 3 pipeline. They are enabling the pipeline. They are complicit in the pipeline. And they will be held accountable. Leaders on the frontlines are calling on activists around the world to organize #DefundLine3 actions at branches of the banks funding this toxic pipeline. Stop the Money Pipeline, alongside the frontlines, is calling for a global day of action to defund Line 3.

  On May 7, 2021, activists around the world will organize actions & protests at the branches, offices and headquarters of the banks funding Line 3.

• Training: Policy AdvocacySat May 15, 11:00AM – 1:30PM, OnlineThis is the fourth in a series of five FREE 1.5 hour trainings run by 350 groups around the country, to ground us in shared principles and empower us to take bolder and more strategic action.This training is about Policy Advocacy: How to advocate, how legislative bodies work, and how to influence electeds–with examples from local affiliates to demonstrate common tactics and best practices.

  All members/supporters of 350 affiliates in North America are welcome! Whether you are a new volunteer looking to jumpstart your activism skills, just on the email list and curious about learning more, or a more experienced group member looking to stimulate thinking about new concepts and create stronger connections with peers across the 350 network, these trainings are for you! Recordings and training materials will be available.

  The final training – Strategic Campaigning is on Sat May 22 11am and you can register at the same link.

• Portland Black Lives Matter Protests
  Throughout the week @ across the city – details here
  Click here for our advice for showing up to protest

Thank you all for the work that you do, stay safe, we’re all in this together,
Chris, Chuck, Dineen, Gaby, Indi – the 350PDX staff