Randi Weingarten AFT President | American Federation of Teachers
AFT President Randi Weingarten has reacted to the news of Antonio Gracias resigning from his position at Valor Equity Partners. This follows a statement from a Valor spokesperson confirming that Gracias is no longer working for the U.S. government, after Weingarten sent a letter to nine public pension funds where AFT members' retirements are invested, urging them to review their dealings with Valor.
Weingarten remarked, “It’s amazing what shining a spotlight can reveal,” and expressed disappointment that it took investor intervention for this outcome. AFT members’ deferred wages amount to an estimated $4 trillion in pension funds, including $1.8 billion with Valor.
The letter was addressed to major public pension funds like the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System. It criticized Gracias and other employees for abandoning their company roles to work extensively for DOGE and highlighted concerns over private jet travel related to this work.
Further concerns were raised about how such actions could destabilize Social Security and Medicare systems, potentially affecting fund beneficiaries. The letter included 12 questions for fiduciaries regarding their ongoing relationship with Valor.
This development follows an AFL-CIO report criticizing Valor’s recent fund performance. For over ten years, AFT has supported pension trustees by providing resources like asset manager reports evaluating investments in companies facing reputational risks.
The AFT Trustee Council comprises 40 members serving as trustees on 20 public pension funds, including some of the largest in the country.
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