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(LifeSiteNews) — Two shocking new reports by an education watchdog group show that over the last decade more than $1 billion of teachers’ dues have been funneled to far-left political causes by the nation’s two major teachers unions and their state affiliates.
According to the first report, since August 2015, the two largest teachers’ unions — the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA) — have given out more than $669 million in member dues/fees and Political Action Committee (PAC) funds to left-wing political entities, far-left nonprofits, school board campaigns, and opponents to school choice legislation.
When giving by state and local unions to leftist causes — roughly $336 million — is added, the combined total exceeds $1 billion.
“It’s time to dispense with the myth that unions care whatsoever about teachers’ best interests,” declared Nicole Neily, president of Defending Education (DE), which published the report.
The collected data reflects how the AFT and NEA utilize these funds to influence political and social outcomes both nationally and locally, according to DE’s report.
“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 (as well as supporting progressive politicians at all levels),” Neily said.
“Given the outsized role that unions have played in the education system over the past 50 years, greater transparency on union spending is absolutely critical so that policymakers and teachers themselves can make informed decisions about the role that these entities should — or should not — play in the future,” Neily added.
“These entities are a political machine,” Rhyen Staley, research director at Defending Education, told Fox News.
“Show me your budget and I will show you what you value; and what the teachers’ unions value is political power and advancing a left wing, social justice agenda. Parents, families, and communities have little to no counter to the influence that teachers’ union dollars have on state and local campaigns,” Staley said. “Gone are the days of unions just advocating for higher wages, better working conditions, and good health insurance; they are a political machine focused on fomenting a ‘political revolution.’”
The astronomical funding of far-left causes includes major contributions to pro-abortion and pro-LGBTQ+ advocacy groups such as Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Emily’s List, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), GLSEN (The Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network), the Trevor Project, and the National Center for Transgender Equality.
Big campaign contributions also made their way to leftist political candidates, including high-profile Democrats Joe Biden and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation received nearly three-quarters of a million dollars.
The complete list of recipients can be found here.
