We call on all local institutions to divest from the prison industry and their major investors. Prison industry corporations perversely profit from incarceration and use their money and political influence to lobby for harsher criminal penalties and anti-immigrant legislation. Prison industry corporations are dependent upon capital from their major investors to fund their lobbying efforts. Our local institutions should not invest our money in, nor profit from this system of human misery.
Schools
Universities hold endowment portfolios worth millions to billions that must be moved out of prisons and into recruitment, retention, and support for students from communities who have been harmed by criminalization and immigration enforcement. Student organizers are leaders in pushing for intersectional divestments from prisons, the Israeli occupation of Palestine, fossil fuels and pipeline backers.
Cities
Multi-racial, multi-sector organizing is pushing cities to divest from private prisons and their financial backers. The cities of Portland, Ore., Seattle, Berkeley, Philadelphia, Alameda and New York City have already divested their investment funds or pension funds from prisons.
Pensions
The following public pensions and investment funds are directly invested in CoreCivic and GEO:[i]
RETIREMENT SYSTEMS OF ALABAMA
STATE OF ALASKA, DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
ARIZONA STATE RETIREMENT SYSTEM
CALIFORNIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM
PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION OF COLORADO
STATE BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION OF FLORIDA RETIREMENT SYSTEM
TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF THE STATE OF KENTUCKY
LOUISIANA STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM
STATE TREASURER STATE OF MICHIGAN
MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF MICHIGAN
NEW JERSEY BETTER EDUCATIONAL SAVINGS TRUST
NEW JERSEY STATE EMPLOYEES DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN
NEW MEXICO EDUCATIONAL RETIREMENT BOARD
NEW YORK STATE TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM
STATE TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF OHIO
PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF OHIO
OREGON PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT FUND
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA PUBLIC SCHOOL EMPLS RETRMT SYS
SOUTH DAKOTA INVESTMENT COUNCIL
STATE OF TENNESSEE, TREASURY DEPARTMENT
TEXAS PERMANENT SCHOOL FUND
TEACHER RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF TEXAS
EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF TEXAS
UTAH RETIREMENT SYSTEMS
CANADA PENSION PLAN INVESTMENT BOARD
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN IN RIGHT OF THE PROVINCE OF ALBERTA
Check out our pension divestment toolkit to learn how to start moving your money out of for-profit prisons. Your financial security shouldn’t depend on separating families and locking your community members behind bars.
[i] As of the latest Securities & Exchange Commission 13-F filings by institutional investors, for period ending Sept. 30, 2018.
Prison Industry Divestment Movement 