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Investing Public Pensions in Fossil Fuel and AI Companies Is More Than Amoral – It’s Bad Business
Corporations are using the hard-earned money of today's workers to further their own goals—many of which are directly at odds with the goals, livelihoods, and futures of public employees.
Feb 18, 2026
Our country faces an affordability crisis amidst fundamental attacks on democracy. Public employee pension plans can either be part of the solution or part of the problem.
Late last year, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander recommended the city’s pension boards drop BlackRock and other portfolio managers that don’t have decarbonization plans up to the city’s standards. Lander’s initiative was blocked, and the editorial board of The Washington Post accused him of playing politics. But Lander argued that his recommendation was in line with the government’s fiduciary duty to protect the long-term value of pension funds, the retirement systems most public sector workers rely on—and have been paying into their entire careers. He’s right. In this critical moment in history, companies that are actively hastening climate change, threatening housing security, eliminating jobs and industries, and destabilizing our democracy and economy do not deserve our investment. Yes, they are acting immorally but they are also very bad investments with little promise of future returns for public sector workers. It’s not “playing politics” to refuse to fund their efforts to dismantle our society. That’s why we’re calling on pension boards across the country to take a hard look at their portfolios and make the smart business decision: stop investing in companies like this today.
The stakes could not be higher: pension funds account for $6.1 trillion in state and local defined-benefit funds alone. Every month, nearly 15 million workers across the country contribute part of their paycheck to ensure they have enough income to retire securely. This is a big pot of money and the companies that boards choose to invest it with matter. For public sector workers, pensions are not only retirement funds, but deferred current compensation. Workers are forsaking their hard-earned money today for the potential of a dignified future. Meanwhile, corporations are using that money today to further their own goals—many of which are directly at odds with the goals, livelihoods, and futures of public employees.
The interests of public workers and these companies dangerously diverge, but even the one area of alignment is fraught: secure return on investment.
Public pension systems across the country, including the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTERS), California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) and New York City retirement funds, are heavily invested in Blackstone, the private equity company turning profits by hiking up rents during a housing affordability crisis. RealPage, the company sued last year by the DOJ for allegedly operating a nationwide rental price-fixing scheme, has investments from over a dozen pension funds through private equity funds. Public workers are watching their deferred compensation funnel into corporate exploitation while they fight to pay their own rent or mortgages.
Palantir, the data surveillance software company whose co-founder has stated his support for public hangings and apartheid, has multi-million dollar investments from The Teacher Retirement System of Texas, the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, CalPERS, CalSTERS and other pension funds. Palantir’s tools have been used by the military to conduct destabilizing wars around the world, by DOGE to gather and merge data on millions of US residents, endangering the safety and security of us all, and by ICE to terrorize individuals and families across the country— threatening our democracy at home and abroad.
The interests of public workers and these companies dangerously diverge, but even the one area of alignment is fraught: secure return on investment. We are almost undeniably in the midst of an AI bubble, much larger than the dot com bubble that came before. With so many pension fund portfolios overly concentrated in the tech industry, funding new data centers built on speculative calculations and crypto companies propped up by hype—Palantir, Coinbase, VC firms like Andreessen Horowitz and others, NVIDIA and many more—a shift in the global appetite for new technology could empty the pockets of millions of workers. Short-term gains are not a good predictor of long-term returns for investors like public employees, who are stuck with the terms of their retirement funds and can’t pull out when markets turn. When the editorial board of the Washington Post writes that “the job of pension fund managers is to maximize returns for retirees who depend on them,” they should take these very real—and apolitical—risks into account.
Public pension funds are an enormous engine driving the economy today, and the investment choices that pension boards make are critical to the future of the country and the world. When boards invest workers’ money, they contribute to the specific visions and plans of companies and the people who run them. And when those plans include the destruction of our environment, our right to housing and fair work, and our democracy, it’s assisted suicide. Today we are urging pension boards to think beyond short-term gains and market bubbles. We’re calling on leaders to speak out and push for change as Former Comptroller Brad Lander did. Public worker retirement money must be invested responsibly in a secure future for us all.
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Senate GOP Faces Fresh Pressure After House Vote for Affordable Care Act Subsidies
"Today's vote represents a glimmer of hope for the 22 million Americans desperately trying to hold onto affordable health coverage for themselves and their families," said one campaigner.
Jan 08, 2026
US Senate Republicans are under renewed pressure to restore the Affordable Care Act premium tax credits after 17 GOP members of the House of Representatives helped Democrats pass legislation to extend the recently expired ACA subsidies by three years.
The 230-196 vote—in which five Republicans did not participate—came after GOP Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Michael Lawler (NY), Rob Bresnahan (Pa.), and Ryan Mackenzie (Pa.) broke with their party's leadership last month and signed a Democratic discharge petition that allowed the bill's backers to bypass House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
Joining those four Republicans and all House Democrats on Thursday were GOP Reps. Mike Carey (Ohio), Monica De La Cruz (Texas), Andrew Garbarino (NY), Jeff Hurd (Colo.), David Joyce (Ohio), Thomas Kean Jr. (NJ), Nick LaLota (NY), Max Miller (Ohio), Zachary Nunn (Iowa), Maria Elvira Salazar (Fla.), David Valadao (Calif.), Derrick Van Orden (Wis.), and Rob Wittman (Va.).
"Despite Speaker Johnson's best efforts to block legislation to extend the ACA tax credits—Democratic leadership forced a vote and it passed!" declared Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal (Wash.). "The Senate must immediately follow our lead to lower costs for millions of Americans who are seeing their premiums skyrocket."
Senators also celebrated the development and called for a vote in their GOP-controlled chamber.
"Finally after we pushed this for a year!" said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), noting that 17 House Republicans helped advance the bill. "The Senate must vote on it ASAP to lower costs for tens of millions of Americans."
Over 20 million Americans face soaring premiums because of the lapsed subsidies, and some people are forgoing health insurance coverage because of the new rates—which have surged alongside other rising costs tied to President Donald Trump's agenda.
"At a time when millions of Americans are being crushed under the weight of higher healthcare prices and cost-raising tariffs, this vote to bring back the healthcare tax credits is a testament to thousands of constituents nationwide who never let their members of Congress off the hook," said Unrig Our Economy campaign director Leor Tal.
"Now, we are taking this fight to the Senate," Tal continued. "Just like in the House, Senate Republicans have a choice—either stand with your constituents or vote to raise their healthcare costs exponentially. The answer should be clear."
While similarly welcoming the House passage, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin also called out the majority of Republicans in the chamber who opposed the bill, arguing that they "have once again chosen to abandon working families."
"Millions of everyday Americans have already seen their healthcare premiums skyrocket, and what are Donald Trump and Republicans doing to help? Not a damn thing," Martin said. "They already gutted Medicaid while handing out massive tax cuts to billionaires—and now they see no problem with allowing costs to skyrocket even more. House Democrats fought tooth and nail to pass this bill, and now the Senate must come to the table and extend the tax credits—it's time to stop screwing around with Americans' healthcare."
As the Associated Press reported:
A small group of senators from both parties has been working on an alternative plan that could find support in both chambers and become law. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said that for any plan to find support in his chamber, it will need to have income limits to ensure that the financial aid is focused on those who most need the help. He and other Republicans also want to ensure that beneficiaries would have to at least pay a nominal amount for their coverage.
Finally, Thune said there would need to be some expansion of health savings accounts, which allow people to save money and withdraw it tax-free as long as the money is spent on qualified medical expenses.
Anthony Wright, executive director of the advocacy group Families USA, said Thursday that the House "discharge petition and vote put pressure on the president and the Republican congressional leadership to stop with the poison pills and procedural barriers and extend the enhanced tax credits so Americans can afford coverage."
"Millions of Americans began the new year facing staggering increases in their monthly health insurance premiums—in many cases seeing health costs double overnight," he noted. "This sudden spike, of more than $1,000 on average, is not just a shock—it's a breaking point. Without action, an estimated 4 million marketplace enrollees are expected to go uninsured, and many millions more will become underinsured, paying more and getting less."
"Today's vote represents a glimmer of hope for the 22 million Americans desperately trying to hold onto affordable health coverage for themselves and their families," he said. "Congress should not have needed a discharge petition to force a vote on something so overwhelmingly supported by the public and so essential to the health and financial security of American families. Every day we delay does further damage, so it's urgent for the Senate to stand with the 77% of voters who want to see a clean extension passed."
Wright also stressed that "with open enrollment ending in most states in just six days, families are being forced to make impossible choices in real time. Doing nothing is a choice to price out and push millions to lose coverage, rack up debt, and go without care. The Senate must now do its job and deliver the relief American families urgently need."
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) president Lee Saunders also took aim at the Senate on Thursday, saying that "the cost-of-living crisis is an unaffordable and unsustainable reality for millions of people, and it's getting worse."
"Thankfully, pro-worker lawmakers in the House voted today to restore the Affordable Care Act premium credits—a lifeline helping tens of millions of families afford healthcare," he said. "These tax credits also help keep costs lower for everyone else on health insurance—supporting them should be a no-brainer. We call on the Senate to act quickly and restore these tax credits. Working families are counting on them."
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Labor Leaders Cheer House Vote to Undo 'Single-Largest Act of Union Busting in American History'
"President Trump betrayed workers," said the head of the AFL-CIO. "Working people delivered a rare bipartisan majority to stop the administration's unprecedented attacks on our freedoms."
Dec 11, 2025
US labor leaders on Thursday celebrated the House of Representatives' bipartisan vote in favor of a bill that would reverse President Donald Trump's attack on the collective bargaining rights of 1 million federal workers.
Trump's sweeping assault on federal workers has included March and August executive orders targeting their rights under the guise of protecting national security. In response, Congressmen Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) spearheaded the fight for the Protect America’s Workforce Act. They recently collected enough signatures to force the 231-195 vote, in which 20 Republicans joined all Democrats present to send the bill to the Senate.
"The right to be heard in one's workplace may appear basic, but it carries great weight—it ensures that the people who serve our nation have a seat at the table when decisions shape their work and their mission," Fitzpatrick said after the vote.
"This bill moves us closer to restoring that fundamental protection for nearly 1 million federal employees, many of them veterans," he added. "I will always fight for our workers, and I call on the Senate to help ensure these protections are fully reinstated."
American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) president Liz Shuler joined union leaders in applauding the lower chamber on Thursday and calling on the Senate to follow suit. She said in a statement that "President Trump betrayed workers when he tried to rip away our collective bargaining rights. In these increasingly polarized times, working people delivered a rare bipartisan majority to stop the administration's unprecedented attacks on our freedoms."
"We commend the Republicans and Democrats who stood with workers and voted to reverse the single-largest act of union busting in American history," she continued. "Americans trust unions more than either political party. As we turn to the Senate—where the bill already has bipartisan support—working people are calling on the politicians we elected to stand with us, even if it means standing up to the union-busting boss in the White House."
Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal workers union, similarly praised the members of Congress who "demonstrated their support for the nonpartisan civil service, for the dedicated employees who serve our country with honor and distinction, and for the critical role that collective bargaining has in fostering a safe, protective, and collaborative workplace."
"This vote marks an historic achievement for the House's bipartisan pro-labor majority, courageously led by Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania," he said. "We need to build on this seismic victory in the House and get immediate action in the Senate—and also ensure that any future budget bills similarly protect collective bargaining rights for the largely unseen civil servants who keep our government running."
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees president Lee Saunders also applauded the House's passage of "a bill that strengthens federal workers' freedoms on the job so they can continue to keep our nation safe, healthy, and strong."
"This bill not only provides workers' critical protections from an administration that has spent the past year relentlessly attacking them," he noted, "but it also ensures that our communities are served by the most qualified public service workers—not just those with the best political connections."
Randy Erwin, the head of the National Federation of Federal Employees, declared that "this is an incredible testament to the strength of federal employees and the longstanding support for their fundamental right to organize and join a union."
"The president cannot unilaterally strip working people of their constitutional freedom of association. In bipartisan fashion, Congress has asserted their authority to hold the president accountable for the biggest attack on workers that this country has ever seen," he added, thanking the House supporters and pledging to work with "senators from both parties to ensure this bill is signed into law."
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