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Teachers, unions and advocacy groups pressed CalSTRS to divest from Tesla and securities tied to Israel
Summary
Dozens of current and retired teachers, union organizers and advocacy groups urged the CalSTRS Investment Committee during public comment to direct staff to investigate and divest from Tesla, Israeli bonds and companies they say profit from conflicts, citing fiduciary duty and CalSTRS' ESG policy.
Hundreds of written messages and dozens of in-person and phone comments at the CalSTRS Investment Committee meeting on June 12 urged the pension fund to sell holdings in Tesla and to investigate and divest from Israeli bonds and a list of defense and surveillance companies. Speakers said divestment would align investments with the system’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments and reduce reputational and financial risk.
Retired teacher Ruth Redki told the committee, “Sell Tesla now, please,” arguing that Tesla is a speculative “meme stock” and that recent news and management decisions increase downside risk to the pension. Edward Hasbrook, identified in the meeting as a CalSTRS beneficiary, also urged the sale and said the board should stop “gambling” on the stock.
Organized labor and advocacy speakers raised related concerns. Sarah Holtz, an organizer with OPEIU, said CalSTRS owns what she described as $57 million in Teleperformance shares and urged the fund to press the company to stop alleged union-busting and to rehire terminated interpreters. Multiple speakers — including members of the CalSTRS Divest campaign and retired educators — asked the board to investigate investments in Israeli government bonds and securities of contractors they named, including Caterpillar, Lockheed Martin, Elbit Systems and Palantir Technologies.
Mr. Brooks read a summary of correspondence to the record before public comment: since the January meeting CalSTRS received about 1,825 form emails and dozens of targeted messages on these topics, including 174 form emails asking divestment from Tesla and hundreds of messages urging investigation of Israel-related investments.
Board members did not take a vote during the public-comment period. Chair Keelio Qu. thanked speakers and paused the meeting for a short recess before continuing with the scheduled CIO report. Committee staff said public correspondence and testimony would be entered into the record for consideration by investment staff and the committee.
The committee’s public meeting proceeded to scheduled reports and consultant reviews; the speakers’ requests were captured as correspondence and public comments to inform future staff work and potential engagement or policy proposals.
