Oregon’s public dollars are meant to serve the public good — not fund pollution, corporate deception, or fossil fuel lobbyists.

Join F Minus and Oregon advocates for a timely briefing on how public institutions like Portland Public Schools share lobbying firms with companies that are blocking action on the climate crisis and attempts to protect Oregonians from PFAS or “forever chemicals.”

Portland Public Schools shares a lobbying firm with a trade association that helped defeat a ban on PFAS in Oregon this year, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. This same firm also continues to represent Tesla at a time when Elon Musk, President Trump, and DOGE have cut funding for PFAS clean-up and other environmental justice initiatives.

The Oregon lobbying firm Public Affairs Counsel lobbies for an organization that represents thousands of PERS retirees, Oregon PERS Retirees Inc. (OPRI), while also lobbying on behalf of the Koch Companies, which are one of biggest funders of climate denialism. In 2025, this Koch-friendly firm helped defeat a bill that would have paused PERS investments in fossil fuels.

F Minus has uncovered these lobbying conflicts with our first-of-its-kind database of every fossil fuel lobbyist in Oregon–and in every other state. Join us on November 12 as we connect the dots between:

• PFAS (“forever chemicals”) — toxic substances contaminating Oregon’s water, soil, and communities

• Fossil fuel industry influence — including the same lobbying networks that delay or derail Oregon’s climate goals

• PERS investments — and what it will take to align Oregon’s retirement dollars with its values

Oregon has already taken bold steps toward divestment — including a 2024 law to end coal investments — but the fight isn’t over. The next step is exposing and ending these conflicts of interest.

This online briefing will feature advocates, researchers, and watchdogs sharing:

• The latest findings from F Minus’s PFAS and fossil fuel conflict analysis
• Updates from Divest Oregon and other local leaders
• Ways you can help push PERS and lawmakers to cut ties with lobbyists representing polluters and profiteer