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The latest revelations have sent shockwaves through the teaching community. Teachers who have dutifully paid their union dues, believing these contributions were earmarked for securing better wages, improved benefits, or fair contracts, might want to take a closer look. According to a newly published report by Defending Education, a significant portion of these funds has been channeled into what can only be described as an extensive political funding operation, with your money right in the mix.
Since August 2015, the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) have collectively redirected $669,324,912.33 in member dues and PAC funds to various left-leaning political organizations, progressive nonprofits, and Democratic campaign efforts. When you factor in contributions from state and local affiliates, this figure climbs beyond $1 billion.
Rhyen Staley from Defending Education provides a straightforward breakdown:
The financial trail is quite revealing. The State Engagement Fund, a key Democratic Party support mechanism, received $60,525,000. Meanwhile, the For Our Future Action Fund was allocated $44,732,078. The Senate Majority PAC was granted $32,655,000, and the House Majority PAC received $25,842,790. Additionally, the Strategic Victory Fund, established in 2020 with the specific aim of unseating Donald Trump, secured $19,300,000.
Beyond these allocations, the unions directed over $85 million straight into Democratic Party coffers at every level of government, excluding individual candidate donations. The Biden Victory Fund was supported with $923,500, while the Hillary Victory Fund received $444,250. Contributions also included $725,000 to the Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation, with an additional $400,000 going to the Clinton Global Initiative.
The big money tells the story. The State Engagement Fund, a Democratic Party infrastructure vehicle, received $60,525,000. The For Our Future Action Fund took $44,732,078. The Senate Majority PAC received $32,655,000. The House Majority PAC got $25,842,790. The Strategic Victory Fund, created in 2020 explicitly to defeat Donald Trump, received $19,300,000.
On top of all that, the unions pumped over $85 million directly into Democrat Party entities at every level of government, not counting a single dollar in individual candidate contributions. The Biden Victory Fund received $923,500. The Hillary Victory Fund got $444,250. The Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation collected $725,000, with another $400,000 to the Clinton Global Initiative.
This is the wholesale conversion of teacher paychecks into a Democrat Party slush fund.
The ideological line items are worse. Media Matters for America received $700,000. The Sixteen Thirty Fund, a dark money vehicle in the Arabella Advisors network, received $4,433,000. Color of Change and its PAC got $3,310,000. Planned Parenthood Votes received $350,000.
Teachers’ Unions Now Blowing $2M on Protest Training While Kids Can’t Read
The NEA paid the Trevor Project $100,000, an organization whose chatroom was described as a “Pandora’s box” of disturbing content that encouraged minors to hide gender transitions from their parents. The Trump administration defunded the group last year by cutting a $26 million federal contract. The unions cut a check directly to race theorist Ibram X. Kendi for $7,418. They paid Gender Inclusivity LLC $29,250. They funneled $1,755,000 to the Midwest Academy, a group currently training activists for the May Day 2026 mobilization. This is not a union protecting teachers. It is a political apparatus funding the ideological transformation of American life.
Perhaps most cynically, the unions spent massively to kill school choice. Support Our Schools Nebraska, which repealed a school choice law, received $4,298,076 from the NEA. Protect Our Schools Kentucky received $7,215,000 to fight voucher legislation. Public Schools Strong received $4,137,500 to campaign against school choice in Colorado. Save Our Public Schools got $5,400,000.
The partisan fingerprints at the local level are just as damning. The Ohio Education Association gave $2.9 million to the Ohio Democrat Party and $23,249 to the Ohio House Republican Alliance, a ratio of 125 to 1. The Chicago Teachers’ Union funded the Chicago Aldermanic Black Caucus, the Chicago Alliance Against Racial and Political Oppression, and the Chicago City Council Latino Caucus. Its expense records show zero dollars to the Illinois Republican Party. Not one cent.
Nicole Neily, Defending Education’s president, was equally blunt:
“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.”
A billion dollars spent. Not on teachers. Not on students. Not on classrooms or salaries. On political power. The only question left is whether the teachers who were robbed will finally demand their money back.
Editor’s Note: President Trump is fighting to ensure America’s kids get the education they deserve.
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