NPPC Highlight: A Valentine to Public Employees
This week, we shared a heartfelt Valentine’s Day tribute to the people who keep our communities running.
In our latest blog, we wrote:
“Public employees are the quiet backbone of our communities. They don’t always make headlines. Their work isn’t flashy. But it is constant, essential, and deeply human.”
From the sanitation workers who collect our trash before sunrise, to the nurses who offer compassion in moments of fear, to the teachers who shape the next generation—the message is simple: our communities function because public employees show up every day.
Showing appreciation also means protecting the retirement security these workers have earned.
Read the full Valentine’s tribute.
State News
Leadership Transition at AFSCME
After 14 years at the helm, Lee Saunders announced he will retire following AFSCME’s International Convention in August 2026.
During his tenure, Saunders led the union through major national challenges, including the Supreme Court’s Janus decision and the COVID-19 pandemic, while strengthening grassroots worker power across the country.
Reflecting on the transition, Saunders said:
“Leadership changes hands, but the power stays exactly where it has always been, with the workers. Worker power endures, and AFSCME is built for the fights ahead.”
Saunders was a stalwart champion for public pensions, whether fighting for the modest pensions of Detroit city workers, meeting with Congressional Leaders, or instigating good trouble with the billionaire apologists. His retirement marks the end of a historic chapter for one of the nation’s largest public-sector unions.
Alaska Pension Reform and School Crisis Collide
Debate over retirement security is intensifying in the Alaska Legislature, where House leaders have committed to passing pension reform this year—more than two decades after the state closed its defined benefit plan.
The bill appears to be on the fast track, receiving an early-session hearing in Senate Finance Monday. House Majority Leader Chuck Kopp expressed confidence that lawmakers will deliver a new public pension plan in 2026, signaling renewed momentum behind reform efforts.
“I fully expect we will have this bill on the governor’s desk this year,” said Kopp as he met with dozens of Alaska firefighters in Juneau to talk to legislators.
But the urgency goes beyond pensions alone.
In testimony covered by Alaska Public Media, students and school board members described a school maintenance backlog that has reached crisis levels. Aging facilities, deferred repairs, and funding shortfalls are compounding workforce challenges already facing the state’s schools.
Education leaders clearly connected the dots: recruitment and retention struggles are tied to both working conditions and retirement benefits. Without competitive pension options, Alaska continues to lose teachers and public employees to other states.
Scrutiny of Government Surveillance and Immigration-enforcement Contracts Intensifies
Public pension exposure to controversial tech firm Palantir continues to draw scrutiny. Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board disclosed that it boosted its holdings in the firm 135.3% in the third quarter, with a total investment valued at roughly $98.7 million. This, as public and fiduciary pressure over government surveillance and immigration-enforcement contracts intensifies.
The New York City Comptroller has formally requested a third-party human rights risk assessment of the company, while advocates in New Jersey are pressing pension trustees to reevaluate investments tied to federal deportation operations.
Reports from Minnesota indicate that the use of these technologies could negatively affect public plan sponsors by causing lost workdays and reduced tax collections in ICE-surge targets. The episode underscores the growing collision among pension fiduciary duty, reputational risk, public-sector workers, and the expanding role of public retirement capital in policing and surveillance infrastructure.
Be sure to check back next Friday for the latest news in the fight for a secure retirement! For now, sign up for NPPC News Clips to receive daily pension news from across the country directly to your inbox.