Worker capital - our $1.35 trillion in public pension funds in California - should be working for us, our families and communities. The long-term financial health of the fund and the well-being of our communities demands investing in a more livable future.
California is a place of great wealth and has the 5th largest economy in the world. Despite this, our State has some of the most expensive housing, an overall cost of living that is one of the highest in the country, and our wages are in no way keeping up.
Whether we’re talking about housing, income or climate, low income and working class communities of color are getting the worst of it. Climate change is bringing us an increase in wildfires, floods and extreme temperatures. Economic, and increasingly climate disruptions, are displacing us from our homes.
California needs to put the full force of its economic power to work to make sure that our communities are liveable, affordable, sustainable and healthy. In fact, the above-mentioned crises also threaten the very stability of public pensions in California. By investing in California’s communities of color, we will protect retirement security.
We are coming together to ensure that worker capital:
● Is invested in ways that benefit us and our communities;
● Is advancing racial equity and investing in ways that strengthen communities of color that have been negatively impacted by discriminatory programs and practices
● Is holding companies they’re invested in, and asset managers, accountable on issues of worker’s rights, climate responsibility, housing and racial justice;
● Is not invested in ways that hurt us, our communities, and the planet like fossil fuels and private equity-owned healthcare companies.
Our Current Priority Campaign Areas
Sustainability plans that include benchmarks, timelines, and escalating pathways that lead to exit from heavy fossil fuel emitting companies, from companies that finance and insure companies that build new fossil fuels, and exclude bonds with companies that develop new fossil fuels.
Worker Justice
Responsible Employer/Labor Standards that include freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining, elimination of all forms of discrimination, forced or compulsory work and demonstrated respect for the human rights of those affected by their investment activities.
Investment in housing preservation and production that meets the needs of California’s low-wage workforce and households most at risk, and adopt Responsible Landlord Standards to prevent investment in companies that are worsening our already severe housing crisis.