This Is A Lesson Teachers Need To Learn

Everyone needs to believe that the money that is coming out of their paychecks is going towards something worthwhile. We’d all like to think our taxes are being put to good use, but we’ve also resigned ourselves to the idea that, in far too many cases, that ship has already sailed.

Union dues should be allocated more specifically to support various initiatives. These include improving working conditions, negotiating fair wages, providing health benefits, establishing retirement plans, and ensuring safe workplaces. Additionally, the funds should pay for attorneys and staff who represent workers in disputes, claims of unfair treatment, or arbitration.

Dues should also contribute to strike funds and campaigns to organize new workplaces. This strategy enhances the overall leverage and bargaining power for current members. Furthermore, the union must account for administrative and staff costs. These costs include office rent, accounting services, equipment, salaries, benefits, and educational training programs.

Ultimately, legislative lobbying will always be necessary to promote worker-friendly laws, workplace safety regulations, and public policies at the local, state, or federal level. However, these expenses can escalate quickly. Often, funds are used to support individual political candidates’ campaigns, which tend to favor personal interests rather than genuinely working to benefit employees.

In the case of teachers’ unions, the abuse favoring the Democratic Party has been excessive. Over the past decade, the two national teachers’ unions and their state and local affiliates have directed more than $1 billion in dues and PAC (Political Action Committee) money into political causes, according to Defending Education, which tracked this spending through federal labor and campaign finance filings. Since 2015, the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) have accounted for $669 million of this amount. More than $85 million has gone directly to Democratic Party committees, while over $60 million has gone to the State Engagement Fund, a progressive organization many teachers may not know exists.

The NEA’s latest federal disclosure reveals how the organization operates. In one year, the union collected approximately $390 million in dues and fees. It spent $51.7 million on political activities and lobbying and distributed an additional $123.3 million in contributions, gifts, and grants. This included $300,000 to the Sixteen Thirty Fund, which is the largest dark money network on the left.

 Its largest recipient was its own super PAC, which received nearly $8.6 million. In contrast, the amount spent on representing teachers—what the dues are intended to support—was less than $46 million, making it just ten cents on the dollar.

The AFT released its own report this fall, and the findings were concerning. The organization spent $37 million on political activities and lobbying for the year ending June 30. Its grants included $250,000 to the Center for American Progress, $100,000 to Emily’s List, $100,000 to Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, and $75,000 to the Clinton Foundation. Randi Weingarten’s salary for the year was $546,158, while her NEA counterpart, Becky Pringle, earned $514,755. To put this in perspective, a teacher making $55,000 would need more than nine years to earn the same amount.

The rank-and-file members never voted on any of this. Since 1990, NEA-affiliated committees have contributed $134.5 million to federal candidates and committees, with 97 percent of that funding directed toward Democrats and liberal groups.

Pringle herself has acknowledged that two-thirds of NEA members are not Democrats. Meanwhile, Weingarten told a New York outlet this summer that she approves the total amount her union allocates to outside spending groups but has no control over how those funds are used. If you believe that, I have some oceanfront property for you in Utah.

The union’s agenda is clear. At the AFT’s convention in Washington in July, speakers emphasized that Democratic victories in the upcoming November elections are crucial for the future of education policy. Translation: the ability to continue their hideous indoctrination of America’s kids.

Subsequently, on October 9, the AFT contributed $200,000 to oppose a Washington State ballot measure that sought to repeal the new income tax. This law undermines longstanding protections for public employee pensions. As a result, teachers’ dues now fund the defense of a tax that could affect their retirements.

Let that sink in.

The teachers’ union voted against a longstanding tax that protected public-employee pensions, including teachers’, the group it’s supposed to protect.

In Minnesota, a state overrun with corruption. Education Minnesota’s political arm has spent nearly $2 million this election cycle, with approximately $1.1 million allocated directly to Democratic legislative caucuses and the state party.

Candidates received a total of $12,400, all of which went to a Democrat. A Minnesota teacher pays about $1,000 a year in dues, which have increased every year since 2014.

Weingarten wrote a book that no one is reading or cares about. The Freedom Foundation reviewed the AFT’s financial filings and found over $1.4 million in union expenses related to writing, publishing, and promoting a book. This includes costs for a ghostwriter, a literary agent, and a photographer for the author portrait. Additionally, Weingarten received a portion of the proceeds.

In July, the House Education and Workforce Committee began a review and requested the records. Imagine the gall of this. The teachers’ union funded a book that labels their neighbors as fascists, and Weingarten, the despicable author, received royalties.

Here’s the lesson every teacher needs to learn.

None of this is required. In Janus v. AFSCME, the Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that no public employee can be forced to pay union dues. The substantial funds came primarily from teachers who were promised their contributions would result in better pay, safer classrooms, and a voice in their workplaces. Instead, they used those funds to support the communist Democratic Party.

This election clearly demonstrates the perverse deception of the Democrats when it comes to the indoctrination of our children. They are essentially stealing the teachers’ money under the guise that it is being used for their benefit, when in reality the unions are using it to feather their own nests and to fund the immoral intentions of the Democrats.

I beseech every teacher to understand that you are under no obligation to pay these dues. A teacher who backs this corrupt agenda can keep paying for it. A teacher who does not is free to keep their hard-earned money.