New data reveal teachers unions care more about liberal politics than education
Jack Elbaum
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It has long been clear that some of the biggest teachers unions in the country care far more about liberal politics than education or representing teachers.
New data reported by the Illinois Policy Institute proves this once and for all. And the numbers are striking.
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In 2022, less than 8% of the National Education Association, the largest teachers union in the country, and its Illinois subsidiary’s spending was used on representing teachers. This is quite odd because “the Wise Giving Alliance, a project of the Better Business Bureau, maintains a nonprofit should spend at least 65% of its total expenses on program activities.”
What, then, is the money going to? Well, the NEA spent almost $4 million more on “political activities and lobbying” than representing teachers last year. And on top of that, the NEA spent triple that amount, $119.6 million, on “contributions, gifts and grants,” many of which were also political.
The Illinois Policy Institute lists them:
“$2.5 million to For our Future Action Fund, which claims to ‘build progressive power’ $500,000 to Building Back Together, the organization ‘advanc[ing] the policy agenda of the Biden-Harris Administration’ $450,000 to Strategic Victory Fund, which seeks to build ‘the infrastructure needed to build long-term progressive agendas and issue advocacy in states’ $395,000 to Chicago-based Midwest Academy, a training organization that claims ‘empowering progressive organizers is our mission’ $300,000 to America Votes, the ‘coordination hub of the progressive community’ $270,000 to Democracy Alliance, an organization seeking to ‘advance progressive policy reforms’ $225,000 to State Innovation Exchange, which equips legislators to ‘move bold, progressive public policy’ $150,000 to Progressive Caucus Action Fund, which publishes a ‘progressive playbook’”
How people or organizations decide to allocate their scarce resources can reveal a great deal about what they prioritize. After all, scarcity necessitates trade-offs, and decisions about trade-offs signal priorities. Looking at the NEA’s use of funds leads us to a clear conclusion: The largest teachers union in the country prioritizes politics over education.
This is a tragedy because of the dismal state of our education system. Learning loss is rampant after union leaders fought tooth and nail to keep children out of school in 2020 and 2021, and test scores are at their lowest point since 1990. In some cities, there are more than a dozen schools where not a single child tests proficient in math or reading, and, in Baltimore, 58% of children are chronically absent. For those who are so eager to grandstand about every political matter under the sun — the NEA passed a resolution that explicitly endorses bringing critical race theory into the classroom in 2021 — not to demonstrate more concern with actual learning outcomes is outrageous.
The only way to change these conditions is by disempowering those who perpetuate them. Powerful unions such as the NEA are at the top of the list.
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Jack Elbaum is a summer 2023 Washington Examiner fellow.