As Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon continues to claim lives and fuel regional unrest, a local group is calling out one Pittsburgh company’s role in the war effort. Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Pittsburgh protested Dec. 2 outside the headquarters of Howmet Aerospace in a bid to get Howmet not to renew a contract with defense giant Lockheed Martin.
Howmet manufactures parts for jet engines and aircraft — that includes titanium components used in the Lockheed Martin-built F-35 Lightning II fighter jet, which the U.S. has sold to allies worldwide, including Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) currently operates at least 39 of the technologically advanced jets and plans to acquire a total of 75 by 2028. Without the parts Howmet makes, members of a local coalition of activists supporting BDS of Israel say the IDF would have greater difficulty acquiring and repairing its F-35s. Reports have found credible evidence that the IDF flew its F-35s in attacks on civilian “humanitarian zones,” recently prompting the Supreme Court of the Netherlands to call for a ban on the export of Dutch-made parts used in the Lightning II.
Matt Fiorillo of BDS Pittsburgh said in an interview before the protest that the group hopes “to get them to stop their dealings with Lockheed Martin and put a small, little wrench in the ability for the U.S. to continue supporting Israel’s genocide.”
(Pittsburgh City Paper reached out to Howmet for comment, but we did not hear back by press time. BDS Pittsburgh activists say the company has ignored multiple calls and letters, including a petition, from the group.)
Howmet’s recent emergence as a standalone company came with controversy, and its relationship with Lockheed Martin has not been frictionless. Acquired by Alcoa in 2000, Howmet was spun off by Alcoa’s successor Arconic in 2019. This occurred after Arconic’s reputation suffered following the company’s role in the deadly 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London. Then, the company and Lockheed Martin fell out over their 2024 F-35 contract.
“The price of titanium was fluctuating a lot, which led to a price dispute between Howmet and Lockheed,” Fiorillo said. “Lockheed sued Howmet for refusing to deliver the titanium parts for the F-35 that they were under contract to deliver, and Howmet claimed that Lockheed had broken their side of the contract.”
The two companies eventually settled, but the lawsuit made details of their contract — and the important role of Howmet’s parts in the F-35 — public. BDS activists say that, with the contract due to expire at the end of the year, now is the time for public pressure.
“Obviously, none of us are able to boycott either Lockheed Martin or Howmet,” activist Mel Packer told City Paper. “But without the parts they supply, this jet cannot even fly.”
Packer said he’s hopeful that calling attention to Howmet’s military-industrial ties could also draw scrutiny of their local charitable activities, which Packer called “greenwashing” of its reputation. Activist Emily De Ferrari said BDS Pittsburgh hopes to raise awareness with the public beyond the philanthropic community, as well.
“The other goal is simply an educational goal,” De Ferrari said. “We [Pittsburghers] are not aware how much the war machine, and, specifically, the war in Gaza is intertwined into our community.”
With that goal in mind, a few dozen activists gathered outside of Howmet’s headquarters on the Allegheny River on a cold Monday to protest.
“The reason we’re really here is because of the disproportionate response Israel has had in Gaza,” demonstrator Juliana, who didn’t give a last name, told City Paper as others chanted.
“We don’t want Pittsburgh to be part of the genocide, especially in that kind of intimate way where [Howmet is] actually making parts for these killing machines,” said demonstrator Dan Kovalik, who published a book, The Case for Palestine, on the region’s importance earlier this year. He urged Howmet to reconsider working with Lockheed Martin.
“Their contract’s up in about 30 days,” he said. “We’d like them to find peaceful ways to make a profit.”
Demonstrator Ilan Magnani urged those who feel the same to join the local movement. “There’s a thousand different ways to plug in in Pittsburgh,” they told CP, calling the Pittsburgh Palestine Coalition a “hub” for the movement heading into 2025.
For those opposing Israel’s actions but unconvinced by BDS, Packer points to a number of past examples of effective boycotts, including the ones leading to Strauss Group’s recent sale of Sabra hummus and SodaStream’s 2015 withdrawal from the occupied West Bank.
“There’s been significant victories,” Packer told CP. He describes himself as a “realistic optimist,” and De Ferrari says she feels similarly.
“When the Berlin Wall fell, I had no idea it was going to fall. When Nelson Mandela was released from prison, I had no idea that that was coming,” she said. “I just wonder if this will follow that same trajectory — it looks horrible, and then, all of a sudden, there’s breakthroughs. So that’s a way that I keep hope.”
This article appears in Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2024.
