The nation’s two largest teachers unions funneled more than $900 million combined into political activity, lobbying and advocacy groups between fiscal years 2016 and 2025, according to a new report from the North American Values Institute (NAVI), a nonprofit that tracks ideological activism in education.
The report found the National Education Association (NEA), the country’s largest teachers union with more than 3 million members, spent at least $547 million on political activity and advocacy over that span. Of that, $458.9 million was filed as official political activity and lobbying, while another $88.2 million went directly to progressive advocacy organizations.
To help pay for this, NAVI said NEA delegates approved a $10 dues increase to fund a ballot-measure and media account expected to bring in more than $20 million a year.
A NAVI spokesperson told Fox News Digital that during a May 2026 curriculum-building webinar, NEA national education campaign manager Kyle Serrette described his work as “movement building.” The event reportedly included classroom activities touching on strikes, unionization, and comparisons between the U.S. Constitution and the Black Panther Party’s Ten-Point Program.
Money Routed Through Intermediaries
NAVI said a combined $80.2 million went to three intermediary political groups — the State Engagement Fund, Strategic Victory Fund, and State Victory Fund LLC. The report argues that routing dues money through these entities makes it harder for rank-and-file union members to track where their contributions ultimately land.
The NEA’s own super PAC, the NEA Advocacy Fund, received $116.9 million over the decade, according to the report. NAVI also found $30.1 million went to Education International, a global federation of teachers unions whose members include the General Union of Palestinian Teachers — an organization NAVI describes as affiliated with the Palestine Liberation Organization.
AFT Spending on Ballot Measures and Court Races
The American Federation of Teachers, the nation’s second-largest teachers union, reported $383.2 million in political activity and lobbying expenditures over the same ten-year period, NAVI found.
Of $331.95 million in itemized political payments, $123.35 million went to outside political organizations and committees, $179.99 million to affiliates and internal accounts, and $28.6 million to vendors and consultants, according to the watchdog. Four national partisan political committees alone received $45.7 million from the AFT — more than a third of its payments to outside groups.
NAVI also detailed specific state-level spending by the AFT, including:
- $1 million on an Ohio redistricting measure
- $1 million on Oregon’s Measure 97
- $1 million on California’s Proposition 15
- $1.125 million across Wisconsin Supreme Court election cycles
The report states the AFT additionally provided at least $2.08 million in identifiable payments to Education International, the same global federation the NEA funds.
NAVI concluded that both unions’ political spending reached well beyond traditional collective bargaining into elections, redistricting, tax policy, foreign relations and broader ideological campaigns. Neither the AFT nor the NEA responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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