Are our country’s teachers’ unions actually just political fundraising machines?
A new report out today accuses both the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA) of spending tens of millions of dollars on electing Democratic political candidates, and prioritizing politicking over the needs and interests of their union members.
The report, conducted by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), Gevura Fund, and Rutgers University, among others, found that of the NEA’s $450 million annual disbursement budget from fiscal year 2025, less than $46 million, or 10 percent, was spent on activities directly representing the union’s constituents.
“You read a stat like that,” said Tova Plaut, a New York City teacher and a member of both the NEA and AFT, “and you start to wonder, Where is all that money going?”
The NEA and the AFT are the two largest teachers’ unions in the country, representing around 4.6 million members across the country.
