BUZZ
An education watchdog group has crunched the numbers to determine that political spending by teachers’ unions at the national, state and local levels supporting leftist causes tops $1 billion over the last decade.
A pair of reports from the conservative Defending Education group documents over $1 billion in political contributions by teachers’ unions since 2015: $669 million at the federal level and $336 million at the state and local level.
Defending Education argues workplace dues are being used for ideological activism.
“It’s time to dispense with the myth that unions care whatsoever about teachers’ best interests,” Nicole Neily, president of Defending Education, stated in a news release Monday.
“Educators are victims of a bait-and-switch: instead of their dues going to advocate for increased pay or improved working environments, they’re being spent advancing a hard-left political agenda, underwriting causes such as climate change, gender activism, and abortion (as well as supporting progressive politicians at all levels),” she stated.
On the national level, the two largest teachers unions — the American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association — gave a combined $669,324,912 “to leftwing political entities, far-left nonprofits, school board campaigns, and opponents to school choice legislation,” Defending Education reported.
On the state level, examples from California include donations to Planned Parenthood and to fight the recall effort against Gov. Gavin Newsom. Education Minnesota donated $155,000 to Take Action Minnesota, which has helped organize anti-ICE actions and trainings, the group reported.
According to a “Where Did the Money Go?” key findings graph from Defending Education, here are some highlights from the research:
$106M+ through California Teachers Association PACs
$57M+ from NYC teachers union spending
$60M+ to the State Engagement Fund
$44M+ to For Our Future
$32M+ to Senate Majority PAC
$25M+ to House Majority PAC
$7.2M to oppose school choice in Kentucky
$4.3M to repeal school choice in Nebraska
$4.2M+ to OPPOSE school choice in Maine
$1.3M+ in a single Los Angeles school board race
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