Tell the Mayor of Northampton and Northampton City Council:

Ban Weapons Manufacturing and War Profiteering in Northampton! The residents of Northampton deserve a city dedicated to peace and freedom for all. As long as L3Harris operates here and the city encourages similar companies to manufacture weapons here, that future of peace and freedom is not possible.

The city of Northampton not only allows L3Harris to operate here, but also gave L3Harris significant tax breaks from 2010-2022. In this way, the city of Northampton is:

1. Aiding and abetting war crimes against Palestinians,

2. Enabling violence and surveillance of immigrants at the U.S.- Mexico border, and 

3. Breaking its own laws by maintaining ties to a company that creates parts for nuclear weapons. 

City officials claim they cannot prohibit L3Harris from operating in Northampton unless they are breaking any laws. They claim, "our hands are tied!"​​​​​​​

However, L3Harris is already breaking local and international law! These tax breaks already violate Northampton's 2018 policy to eliminate any and all ties to the nuclear weapons industry. L3Harris's aiding and abetting war crimes in Palestine is a violation of international law.

By establishing a city ordinance banning the manufacturing of weapons in Northampton, all of L3Harris's operations will be illegal under city law. 

What is L3Harris?

L3Harris is the 6th largest weapons manufacturer in the United States. There is a branch right here in Northampton, at 50 Prince St. in the Village Hill neighborhood. 

Nationally, L3Harris produces military technology used to kill Palestinians in Gaza and to surveil and deport immigrants at the U.S.- Mexico border, among other egregious uses. L3Harris also produces parts for intercontinental ballistic missiles used to launch nuclear weapons.

Locally, the L3Harris Northampton branch has received $1.5 billion dollars in military contracts from the Department of Defense to manufacture optical imaging and sensor systems for military submarines, ships, combat vehicles, and other defense platforms. They are able to operate in Northampton because of tax breaks (5% per year from 2010-2022) awarded by the city, at the expense of the public. Weapons manufactured in Northampton can be directly traced to military operations used by Israeli forces in Gaza.

L3Harris’s nuclear weapons ties puts this company in violation of a 2018 Northampton Executive Policy Order passed by Mayor David Narkewicz to eliminate any and all ties between the city and the nuclear weapons industry. In 2023, Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra reiterated the city’s commitment to eliminate nuclear weapons by declaring September 26, 2023 as Nuclear Ban Day.

How can the current mayor commit to eliminating nuclear weapons while giving tax breaks to a company that enables nuclear warfare to operate here?

We Demand:

1. Mayor Sciarra and the Northampton City Council must reject L3Harris’s request to renew their business certificate when it expires on April 23, 2025 and block L3Harris - a company that aids and abets war crimes - from operating in Northampton.
2. The city must pledge to keep Northampton free from war profiteers and weapons manufacturers in perpetuity.
3. The city must provide a just transition for L3Harris workers by attracting ethical cooperatives and firms that create secure jobs aligned with the values and needs of Northampton. We want an economy where people can find meaningful work building affordable housing and clean energy, growing healthy food, and taking care of one another - not making instruments of death.