Education Unions Urge Action on Hate Speech, Pension Investments

Education Union Leaders Call on University Regents to Address Hate Speech and Investment Concerns

WASHINGTON—Leaders from three prominent education unions in the United States are pressing the University of Michigan and the University of California regents to take action against Sequoia Capital following controversial remarks by one of its partners, Shaun Maguire. The union leaders are calling for a public denouncement of Maguire’s statements and a re-evaluation of public pension investments with the firm.

In their letters submitted last week, Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT; Todd Wolfson, president of the American Association of University Professors; and Jeff Freitas, president of the CFT, California’s AFT affiliate, condemned Maguire’s recent social media comments. Maguire had accused Zohran Mamdani, a New York City mayoral candidate, of advancing an “Islamist agenda” and stated that Mamdani “comes from a culture that lies about everything.” Despite the deletion of these posts, Maguire has not retracted his statements, nor has Sequoia Capital addressed the incident adequately.

The union leaders underscored the substantial investments both university systems have in Sequoia Capital, with the University of Michigan involved in 26 of the firm’s funds and the University of California in 21. They urged the university boards to take a firm stand against Maguire’s rhetoric, demand accountability from Sequoia Capital’s leadership, and reconsider future ties with the firm.

“Hateful rhetoric like Maguire’s has no place in public life—let alone from a leader at one of the world’s most powerful investment firms,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “This isn’t about politics—it’s about humanity. At a time when antisemitism, Islamophobia and racism are on the rise, real leadership means standing up and speaking out. That’s why we wrote to the regents of UC and UM to demand that they hold Sequoia Capital’s partners to a basic standard of decency.”

The union presidents stressed that these remarks arise amidst growing scrutiny over institutional affiliations with private capital. They urged the regents to leverage their influence to ensure that public funds are not associated with entities that permit or overlook hate speech. The leaders also highlighted the potential harm such rhetoric poses to Arab and Muslim communities in California and Michigan—states with significant populations from these groups.

They recommended that the regents directly contact Sequoia Capital managing partner Roelof Botha to express their concerns and consider the firm’s inadequate response when making future investment choices.

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The AFT represents 1.8 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.

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