by Jaryn Crouson
The two largest teachers unions in the nation have funneled millions of dollars from membership dues towards leftist political organizations supporting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, gender ideology initiatives, and other leftist groups a new report found.
Combined, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA) have given $43,524,123 since 2022 to left-wing political organizations, such as $100,000 to the Trevor Project, an organization that supports “affirming” gender-confused children, according to the report by Defending Education (DE).
“This latest expose of teacher unions’ spending reinforces that they are focused on advancing ideological mandates and pushing far-left policies that are unpopular with the American public,” Rhyen Staley, a researcher at DE, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Instead of focusing on plummeting student achievement, the teachers’ unions have funneled indirect taxpayer dollars into the pockets of political organizations and nonprofits. Students, parents, and teachers deserve better.”
AFT and NEA did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
“What we found is the teachers’ unions value far-left political power and left-wing ideologies.”@RhyenStaley discusses @DefendingEd‘s latest report exposing how teachers’ unions funnel tens of millions into politics instead of classrooms. pic.twitter.com/rg2OgI551Q
— Nicki Neily (@nickineily) August 25, 2025
AFT allegedly sent $100,000 to the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation, and the unions sent a combined $250,000 to Building Back Together, a group dedicated to promoting the Biden administration’s agenda, according to the report. AFT also donated $100,000 to Protect Constitutional Abortion Rights.
NEA allegedly donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to pro-gender ideology groups, such as $29,500 to Gender Inclusivity LLC, $30,000 to the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and $60,000 to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. The union also allegedly sent $200,000 to the Black Progressive Action Coalition, $17,941 to the National Equity Project, $100,000 to the National Redistricting Action Fund, $58,000 to Race & Equity in Education Inc. and a combined $322,500 to Race Forward and Race Forward Action Inc.
Another $15,000 from NEA went to the group Chinese for Affirmative Action, the report found. The group advocates “for systemic change that protects immigrant rights, promotes language diversity, and remedies racial and social injustice,” according to its website.
Teachers unions have been adamantly fighting President Donald Trump’s education agenda, filing several lawsuits against the administration’s efforts to dismantle the Department of Education (ED), cut funding from schools accused of not adhering to federal civil rights law and root out racial preferences and divisive DEI initiatives in schools. Prior to the 2024 election, several unions were revealed to have funneled millions of dollars collected from membership dues towards organizations working to elect Democrats.
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Jaryn Crouson is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Randi Weingarten” by AFT.
These unions need to be fragmented. Many of the members are unaware of where their membership dues are dispersed. They erroneously believe the monies are going toward improving the profession and improving student academic success. Nothing could be further from the truth. These unions exist simply to keep the union alive, more so union leadership alive. Lessons need to be learned from Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin when he successfully redefined union authority and influence. Student academic performance has declined as is declining each year. This has to change.