Unearthed filing shows largest teachers unions poured over $900 million into political activities
Randi Weingarten (RIGHT) president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and Becky Pringle (LEFT) former president of the National Education Association (NEA). (Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for March For Our Lives)
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Two of the nation’s largest teachers unions spent hundreds of millions of dollars on political activism, lobbying and far-left advocacy groups over the last decade, according to a report from an education watchdog.
According to an investigation by the North American Values Institute (NAVI), a nonprofit watchdog that tracks ideological activism in education, the National Education Association (NEA) spent at least $547 million on political activity and advocacy between fiscal years 2016 and 2025. That total includes $458.9 million filed officially as political activity and lobbying, along with an additional $88.2 million in direct funding to progressive advocacy organizations.
To finance its political activities, "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. With more than 3 million members, the NEA is the largest teachers union in the country.
Then-National Education Association President Becky Pringle speaks at anti-deportation protests in Los Angeles on June 9th, 2025. (Bryan Dozier/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
"During a May 2026 curriculum-building webinar, NEA national education campaign manager Kyle Serrette described his work as 'movement building.' The event included classroom activities involving strikes, unionization, and comparisons between the Constitution and the Black Panther Party's Ten-Point Program," a NAVI spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
NAVI claims the primary beneficiaries of the NEA’s spending are intermediary political groups — including the State Engagement Fund, Strategic Victory Fund, and State Victory Fund LLC — which received a combined $80.2 million. The watchdog noted that routing money through these political intermediaries makes it significantly harder for dues-paying union members to track where their money goes.
The NEA also has its own super PAC, the NEA Advocacy Fund, which NAVI said received $116.9 million over the decade. The report also identified spending on international labor organizations.
According to the report, $30.1 million went to Education International, a global federation of teachers unions that includes the General Union of Palestinian Teachers, which NAVI describes as an entity affiliated with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
FAR-LEFT ACTIVIST CONFERENCE AT TEACHERS UNION HQ RAISES CLASSROOM CONCERNS
US Vice President Kamala Harris, right, waves with Becky Pringle, then-president of the National Education Association, at the National Education Association 2022 annual meeting and representative assembly in Chicago, Illinois, US, on Tuesday, July 5, 2022. (Tannen Maury/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The findings follow earlier scrutiny of the union's financial disclosures. An NEA Form LM-2 tax disclosure obtained by NAVI showed millions of dollars directed to progressive advocacy initiatives and political causes, according to the watchdog.
Meanwhile, the nation's second-largest teachers union, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), reported $383.2 million in political activity and lobbying expenditures between fiscal years 2016 and 2025, according to NAVI.
"Of $331.95 million in itemized political payments, $123.35 million went to outside political organizations and committees, $179.99 million to affiliates and internal accounts, and $28.6 million to vendors and consultants," a NAVI spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
According to NAVI, four national partisan political committees received a combined $45.7 million from the AFT, representing more than one-third of the union's payments to outside political organizations and committees.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, speaks during a rally outside the US Department of Education headquarters in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"The AFT spent heavily on political causes unrelated to traditional education bargaining, including $1 million on an Ohio redistricting measure, $1 million on Oregon's Measure 97, $1 million on California's Proposition 15 and $1.125 million across Wisconsin Supreme Court election cycles," a NAVI spokesperson stated.
The spokesperson added that "the AFT provided at least $2.08 million in identifiable payments to Education International, the global teachers' federation that includes the PLO-affiliated General Union of Palestinian Teachers."
NAVI concluded that the political activities of both the AFT and NEA extended far beyond core education policy into broader campaigns involving elections, redistricting, tax policy, foreign relations and ideological advocacy.
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Neither the AFT nor the NEA immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Joshua Q. Nelson is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
Joshua focuses on cultural trends, education, and public policy. He extensively covered reparations developments across the U.S., the Department of Education, and immigration issues.
Joining Fox News Digital in 2019, he previously graduated from Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and received the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Public Policy Certificate.
Story tips can be sent to joshua.nelson@fox.com and Joshua can be followed on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
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