America’s two largest teachers unions poured more than $930 million into political activity, lobbying, and advocacy grants over the past ten years, according to federal labor filings reviewed by a watchdog group.
Quick Take
- The National Education Association spent at least $547 million on political activity, lobbying, and advocacy funding between fiscal years 2016 and 2025.
- The American Federation of Teachers spent $383.2 million on political activity and lobbying over that same ten-year period.
- Combined, the two unions’ reported spending tops $930 million, based on a review by the North American Values Institute.
- Money reportedly reached outside political committees, ballot initiative campaigns, and progressive advocacy groups across several states.
Ten Years Of Union Money Flowing Into Politics
The North American Values Institute published its findings on October 28, 2026, pulling the numbers from federal labor filings the two unions are required to submit. The group found the National Education Association spent at least $547 million and the American Federation of Teachers spent $383.2 million on political activity and lobbying between fiscal years 2016 and 2025. Together, the two unions’ reported spending exceeds $930 million over the decade.
The National Education Association total breaks into two pieces. Filings show $458.9 million reported directly as political activity and lobbying. Another $88.2 million went as direct funding to progressive advocacy organizations outside the union itself. Both figures come from the same ten-year filing window reviewed by the watchdog group.
Where The American Federation Of Teachers’ Dollars Landed
A spokesperson for the North American Values Institute gave Fox News Digital a more detailed breakdown of the American Federation of Teachers’ spending. Of the union’s reported political total, $331.95 million was itemized. That included $123.35 million sent to outside political organizations and committees, $179.99 million moved to union affiliates and internal accounts, and $28.6 million paid to vendors and consultants.
A separate filing, a November Form L-2 disclosure covering fiscal year 2024, shows the National Education Association sending money to specific left-leaning groups. Reported payments include $300,000 to the Sixteen Thirty Fund and transfers through the Tides Foundation network. The same filing lists $500,000 for a Massachusetts campaign opposing standardized testing and $500,000 backing an Ohio anti-gerrymandering ballot measure.
The filing also lists nearly $500,000 paid to a political consulting firm, according to the same disclosure. These line items sit inside the broader category federal regulators label political activity and lobbying, a reporting bucket that covers far more than campaign contributions alone. Union critics have pointed to payments like these as evidence of a sustained political operation funded through member dues.
Why Union Filings Group So Much Spending Together
Federal labor law requires unions to report this spending on a form known as Schedule 16, filed with the Department of Labor. That schedule bundles electoral spending, ballot initiatives, lobbying of elected officials, regulatory advocacy, litigation costs, voter registration drives, and payments to outside political organizations into one reporting category. The form counts spending whether or not the lobbying effort ever succeeds, which means a single failed bill or ballot measure still shows up in the total.
📊 86%. That’s how much of the nearly $1 BILLION in political spending by the NEA, AFT, SEIU & AFSCME came straight from member dues — not voluntary PAC donations — per a @MyCommonwealth Foundation report.
via @FoxNews https://t.co/x9Nnwyq9w8
— Americans For Fair Treatment (@AmericansFair) October 27, 2026
That broad definition explains why a $930 million figure can include everything from ballot initiative funding to internal transfers between a union’s national office and its state affiliates. It does not change the fact that the dollars came from dues paid by working teachers, many of whom never chose which campaigns or causes their money would support. Other reviews of public-sector unions have found similarly large shares of spending directed toward political activity rather than direct workplace representation.
The filings reviewed by the North American Values Institute cover a full decade of National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers spending, offering the clearest public accounting yet of how the two largest teachers unions in the country direct member dues toward politics. The underlying Department of Labor forms remain public record, available for anyone who wants to trace the same payments line by line.
Sources:
foxnews.com, wfmd.com, roanokenewstalk.com, static.foxnews.com
