In a first victory for the movement, on Tuesday, Los Angeles City Council voted to begin the process to divest $40 million in holdings from Wells Fargo! The motion UNANIMOUSLY passed with a 14-0 vote by city councilmembers. The surprising vote in full council immediately followed the Divest LA coalition's co-occupation and public testimony at the Budget and Finance Committee meeting on Monday. Our initial win with the divestment of $40 million is an important part in untangling the city's financial ties with Wells Fargo and now paves the way for a stronger social and environmental framework for banks that do business with the city, and divestment of the city's full depository accounts and financial services from Wells Fargo, to the tune of billions. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe's attempt to halt or reroute the Dakota Access pipeline away from their water source became an international rallying cry for indigenous and environmental activists last year. The movement that started in Standing Rock moved West to Los Angeles... Victory to all the Water Protectors of Standing Rock who inspired the divest movement! As Los Angeles citizens, we are proud that our City Councilmembers are standing for a better banking system to ensure our communities and our residents thrive. Thank you Councilmembers Mitch O'Farrell, Paul Koretz, and Mike Bonin for taking the lead and introducing this very crucial legislation. Tuesday's action from City Council further strengthens Los Angeles as a progressive city, creating a new era of accountability for financial institutions and corporations doing business with the city of Los Angeles. The passion and dedication of the progressive movement in Los Angeles holds immense power. We are ENERGIZED to continue creating greater financial accountability in our city and pave the way for a just and equitable framework for our public funds. THANK YOU to everyone who has supported Divest LA in our historic grassroots-driven fight against one of the biggest Wall Street banks. We are just getting warmed up, and are now ready to head into Round 2 as we work to strengthen the city's existing banking contracts to include socially and environmentally responsible language, which will lead into full divestment from Wells Fargo. www.divestla.com FB: facebook.com/divestla/ Twitter: twitter.com/divest_la