The National Education Association (NEA), the largest teachers union, spends the majority of the $379 million in annual membership dues the union collects on political campaigning and spreading a radical agenda. The NEA’s 2023-24 budget, for example, allocates $50 million for federal, state, and local political campaigns and litigation. In 2022, 99% of the NEA and NEA affiliates’ political spending went to Democrats.

Some examples of political NEA spending:

  • $30.9 Million to the NEA Advocacy Fund, the NEA’s super PAC
  • $6 Million to the State Engagement Fund, a progressive advocacy group that funds left-wing candidates and groups
  • $2.5 Million to the For Our Future Action Fund, an organization that funds Democratic political campaigns across the country

Some examples of ideological NEA spending: 

  • $580,000 to promote gender ideology, including professional development on pronoun usage
  • $127,000 to “oppose attempts to ban critical race theory and/or The 1619 Project”

Instead of spending classroom teacher’s dues on “ending racism, sexism, homophobia, and other systemic injustices,” the NEA should utilize its resources to help its 2.3 million full-time members address actual education issues like learning loss and chronic absenteeism. To learn more about the NEA’s radical priorities, read IWF’s NEA Pays Lavish Salaries To Headquarters Officials, Spends Only 5.4 Percent Of Its Revenue Representing Teachers, National Education Association Annual Meeting Neglects Vital Education Issues, and The National Education Association’s Radical Agenda.

For more information about teachers unions, visit www.iwf.org/issues/education/