Reject Raytheon AVL develops Principles for Land Use and Economic Development

Principles for Local Land Use and Economic Development

  1. Commit to just, equitable, and sustainable development that prioritizes the needs of communities of color and other historically marginalized and disenfranchised people
  2. Mitigate the climate emergency
  3. Protect the Earth by exceeding the state environmental protections regarding water, air, and soil quality and maintaining green spaces
  4. Oppose recruitment and investment in war or fossil fuel corporations
  5. Invest public money equitably  in local and regional businesses, not multi-national corporations
  6. Generate jobs with a living wage that guarantee workers’ right to organize
  7. Focus on essential community needs, such as deeply affordable housing, health care, education, social services, infrastructure, renewable energy
  8. Hold new industries accountable to the community by requiring contributions to essential community needs in exchange for tax incentives
  9. Make no secret deals - Engage the public in meaningful and transparent decision making from the very beginning of the economic development process 

 

by Reject Raytheon AVL

Mountain Xpress Commentary -Earth Day Protesters Walk Away

by Reject Raytheon AVL

Read about Raytheon's Global War Making Role

Articles about Raytheon

by Reject Raytheon AVL

Melody Shank Speaks at Global Zero Congressional Event

On June 28th, Reject Raytheon AVL member, Melody Shank, was a panelist at a Congressional Staff Briefing held by Global Zero. The event was held to share the results of a just-published report, The Real Cost of ICBMs: US Economic Development Beyond Defense Spending, about the need to move away from Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) as part of the US military strategy and how to convert the economies of the local communities where ICBM silos are located. Melody spoke about the difficulty of engaging in local economic development and industry recruitment processes as illustrated in the case of Pratt & Whitney coming to Asheville. You can read her comments at the link below.

Comments for Global Zero congressional briefing

by Reject Raytheon AVL

Global Peace Wave

On June 25th, Reject Raytheon AVL was one of many peace organizations around the world that created a sustained global peace wave around the earth. Groups across the world held Zoom peace rallies to highlight our need to stop further militarization and to focus on cooperation to end the wars that are ravaging lands and people. In Asheville we held an hour long vigil at the UnVance Monument and spoke of our hopes for a war-free world for our 15-minute on-line rally.

by Reject Raytheon AVL

We Have a Song!

Tom Neilson, peace and social justice advocate, has been writing songs for over 50 years. He wrote this song for our action here in Asheville, just this spring! It will appear on his next album. Check out his many other songs on SoundClick.

https://www.soundclick.com/music/songInfo.cfm?songID=14440140

Lyrics
Pratt & Whitney’s a Raytheon Division
And they say they make their engines with precision
They gave Asheville a financial provision
It’s always good to grease a palm when you want to drop a bomb
And it helps when you buy the decision.
Now if Asheville wants to go and drop a bomb
They’ll have a brand new engine from Pratt & Whitney Raytheon
It doesn’t matter that the planes don’t fly
They just want a piece of the pie
While they feed their money to the Pentagon
We’re building engines for planes that don’t fly;
F35s just fall from the sky
We’re building engines & we don’t ask why Just want a piece of the pie
For aerostructure, military avionics Aeronautical system electronics
They’ll pollute your water and your soil, then go & get the gas & oil
Critical thought is in a state of catatonics
Now Asheville has cyber security
It can build a plane to bomb an enemy
It doesn’t matter where, the engines take ‘em there
How it works in a war economy
We’re building engines for planes that don’t fly; F35s fall from the sky
We’re building engines & we don’t ask why Just want a piece of the pie
On Earth Day, Asheville earth Protectors Conversion economy architectors
For two hours shut down the war industry
No war machine making in their community
Citations for these Raytheon rejectors
We’re building engines for planes that don’t fly; F35s fall from the sky
We’re building engines & we don’t ask why Just want a piece of the pie
100 million in subsidies to cut down all the trees Environment toxicities, human calamities
War is leading to extinction; you’ll go out with out distinction
I guess you better ask why. Not a good piece of the pie It’s time to answer the call. Reject Raytheon we say, Let’s work for the day When there’s plenty of pie for all.

by Reject Raytheon AVL

MountainX Op Ed: "Just Say No to Raytheon Technologies"

https://mountainx.com/opinion/just-say-no-to-raytheon-technologies/

by Reject Raytheon AVL

Rally for 1st Anniversary of Nuclear Weapons Ban

January 22nd Action
Celebration of the One Year Anniversary
of the
Entry into Force of the UN Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapon

 

 

 

 

by Reject Raytheon AVL

December 2021 Actions

Sunday, December 12th and 28th

Montford Street Bridge

Highlighting the Link between Climate Urgency and Need for a Green Transition 

We displayed our new  18′ x 6′ banner on the bridge for passersby to see. We got many honks and waves from drivers on a busy Sunday afternoon.

We wanted to call attention to the crisis our environment is in, and advocate for the most viable political solution, the New Green Deal. The US military is the largest contributor to greenhouse gases, and the $785 trillion dollars in the 2022 defense budget Congress just passed could have gone a long way to mitigate the climate emergency.

 

by Reject Raytheon AVL