Teachers Unions Spent Almost a Billion Dollars on Politics Over a Decade, Watchdog Says

The nation’s two largest teachers unions spent more than $930 million on political activity, lobbying and advocacy over the past decade, according to a new analysis of their federal filings by an education watchdog.

The North American Values Institute, a nonprofit that tracks ideological activism in education, found the National Education Association spent at least $547 million between fiscal years 2016 and 2025, Fox News reported Wednesday.

That total includes $458.9 million reported to the government as political activity and lobbying, plus $88.2 million in direct funding to progressive advocacy organizations, according to the group’s review of the union’s disclosures.

The American Federation of Teachers reported another $383.2 million in political activity and lobbying spending over the same period, NAVI said, bringing the two unions’ combined total above $930 million.

The figures draw on the annual LM-2 reports unions must file with the Labor Department, which are searchable in the department’s online disclosure database. The totals reflect NAVI’s analysis and have not been independently audited.

Where the Dues Went

NAVI said the NEA’s biggest beneficiaries were intermediary political groups, including the State Engagement Fund, Strategic Victory Fund and State Victory Fund LLC, which together received $80.2 million over the decade.

The watchdog argued that routing money through those intermediaries makes it much harder for dues-paying teachers to track where their money goes. The NEA’s own super PAC, the NEA Advocacy Fund, received $116.9 million.

The report also flagged $30.1 million sent to Education International, a global federation of teachers unions that includes the General Union of Palestinian Teachers, which NAVI describes as affiliated with the Palestine Liberation Organization.

“NEA delegates approved a $10 dues increase for a ballot-measure and media fund projected to generate more than $20 million annually,” the report stated. The NEA counts more than 3 million members.

For the AFT, NAVI found that of $331.95 million in itemized political payments, $123.35 million went to outside political groups, $179.99 million to affiliates and internal accounts, and $28.6 million to vendors.

Four national partisan political committees received a combined $45.7 million from the AFT, more than a third of the union’s payments to outside political organizations and committees, according to the watchdog’s tally.

“The AFT spent heavily on political causes unrelated to traditional education bargaining,” a NAVI spokesperson said, citing $1 million each on an Ohio redistricting measure, Oregon’s Measure 97 and California’s Proposition 15.

The AFT also spent $1.125 million across Wisconsin Supreme Court election cycles and at least $2.08 million in identifiable payments to Education International, the same global federation the NEA funded, the spokesperson said.

The report builds on earlier NAVI findings from an NEA LM-2 filing showing millions directed to progressive causes. The group concluded both unions’ activity reached far beyond core education policy.

Neither the AFT, led by Randi Weingarten, nor the NEA immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. The report lands days before midterm elections in which both unions are major Democratic allies.

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