2009 Year In Review

2009 was a fantastic year for The Peace Economy Project. Despite economic hardships, political bickering, and a seeming vacuum of energy throughout the national peace and justice community, we were able to be successful in our work. That is in no small way thanks to our dedicated members, members of the Justice and Peace Shares, a strong board of directors, and a humble and determined Board Chair.

There are five key successes that I would like to focus on in particular:

1. Our New, Monthly EZine
2. Also new, our Strategic Public Opinion Campaign or SPOC
3. Working with interns
4. Academic Discussion Series
5. A week with Frida Berrigan

Monthly EZine (Electronic MagaZine) – The PEP EZine is a monthly publication produced by the Peace Economy Project for individuals and organizations interested in reducing military spending in order to fund social, infrastructure, and environmental needs. This online newsletter raises awareness about current military spending/procurement, advises what one can do to seek to curb this spending, features alternative ways in which this money could be used, seeks financial and logistical support from readers, and enhances accessibility to and visibility of The Peace Economy Project.

For 2010, we look forward to continuing our publications, increasing the number of “in-house” articles, and making each month’s content even more organized and cohesive!

Strategic Public Opinion Campaign – While we don’t have an exact count, somewhere around 20 letters to the editor about PEP issues were submitted to the St Louis Post-Dispatch and about half of those were been published! For 2010, we look forward to increasing the number of volunteer authors and roughly doubling the number of submissions from 2009.

Intern Program – This past summer, 2 students from Washington University joined PEP to help plan events as well as research local military contractors and local social factors contributing to US militarism. In the fall, another WashU student joined us on a part-time basis, helping to author letters to the editor and initiating research on local weapons production stories. The success of this program has helped to lead to reception of a modest grant and the beginning of a new Youth Initiative, in which PEP will take a more active role in working with and organizing young people around peace and justice issues!

Academic Discussion Series – This past summer, we gathered about a dozen St Louis area professors, students, and PEP board members to discuss a Peace Economy. Our intimate group juggled varying personalities and limited expertise to change a way of looking at the problems we face. Out of this program, we are seeking to get PEP faces involved with local measures to determine the economic health of our region in terms other than the GDP. Through this program, we also identified scores of people and campuses for PEP to work with in the future. Ideas that came out of this exercise also helped us to earn the aforementioned grant! (Thanks to Patrice from the Shangri-La Diner for opening up her space just for us to hold this series!)

Frida Berrigan’s visit – The Peace Economy Project was delighted to host Arms-Control expert and activist, Frida Berrigan in St Louis this past fall. While in town, Frida visited with many groups of people large and small, sharing her extensive knowledge, particularly regarding the current nuclear arms climate. All in all, well over 100 St Louisans got an intimate experience with this special woman! In 2010, PEP will spend time opposing construction of a new nuclear weapons plant in Kansas City and will organize efforts to push our senators to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

2009 also featured publications in local newspapers and international journals, we hosted Charlie King and Karen Brandow for their 30th year of concerts in St Louis, we had speakers at events across the state and across the country, and even underwrote a song against the military industrial complex! It has been a real joy to serve the Peace Economy Project community and I look forward to a vibrant, successful 2010!

Andy Heaslet
Peace Economy Project Coordinator



A Brief History of the Peace Economy Project

In 1977, Barbara Riverwoman, Mary Ann McGivern and several other women decided to respond to the military - industrial complex as personified by the McDonnell Douglas corporation. Shareholder resolutions were drafted and conversations started with the machinists.

At the end of the decade, a proposal was submitted to the Ford Foundation, which subsequently provided a $29,000 grant with the understanding that staff would be hired and analysis made of the impact of military spending in St. Louis. Mary Ann and Susan Jordan joined the staff, and Bill Ramsey was recruited from North Carolina.

1980s

In the early 1980s, SLECP moved into its Skinker office, and Chuck Guenther was hired to run the staff. As an engineer who had worked for McDonnell Douglas, he had an appropriate perspective for the size and culture of military spending in the country. With the election of Ronald Regan, a new special challenge developed - how to help the nation understand the folly of the "star wars" initiative, as well as appreciate the complexity and waste associated with military contracts during a time of explosive defense spending.

In the second half of the decade, Chuck left to pursue teaching and Mary Ann and Virginia Nesmith joined the staff. They continued to analyse the economic dependance on the military economy being experienced by the St. Louis region. Emerson Electric, General Dynamics, McDonnell Douglas and more than 700 other prime defense contractors collectively accounted for around 74,000 people (6.4 percent of the workforce) and 2.3 billion (8.4 percent of the wages).

1990s

In July 1990, McDonald Douglas announced plans to eliminate 4500 jobs in St. Louis. Then in 1991, with the cancellation of the A-12 project, another 5000 people were terminated. The cold war was clearly over. The St. Louis Economic Conversion Project joined a regional advisory committee to oversee a government supported Economic Adjustment and Diversification Program.

An economic adjustment plan was prepared, surveys of workers and defense contractors conducted, and a variety of special projects begun. SLECP helped prepare several federal grants, and devoted special attention to a St. Louis Technology Transfer and Management Assistance Program, and a Business Assistance Network. Lance McCarthy joined the staff with a focus on finding investors for distressed sites in the inner suburbs.

In the mid nineties, SLECP entered into a contract with the St.Louis Development Corporation in order to help small manufacturers within the City to improve communication and collaboration amongst themselves. This followed an active effort by SLECP to define projects that could be built into the 1994 St. Louis Empowerment Zone application. The $10,000 award from the City’s Enterprise Community program resulted in formation and initial support for the St. Louis Manufacturing Association.

After a slower time period in the late nineties, Chris Stolz and Marie Andrews were hired. With their assistance, concern returned to the issue of missiles in space, a high priority project in the mind of the new Bush Administration. Drug interdiction efforts in Latin America were also examined.

Marie left in 2001, and Chris left in the summer of 2002, moving with his wife to a new service opportunity in Burundi. Chrissy Kirchoefer left the Board to provide part time staff support in the summer. She was joined in the fall of 2002 by Catherine Marquis-Homeyer. Chrissy Kirchoefer left the staff to pursue other interests in summer 2004.

Current staff-person, Andy Heaslet joined PEP in the summer of 2007.

The name of the organization was changed to the Peace Economy Project in October 2002. The new focus of research became the St. Louis area-based military division of Boeing Company, the area's second largest employer and the nation's number two military contractor.