In its report highlighting state and local teachers unions' funding of left-wing groups and far-left political organizations through contributions and Political Action Committees (PACs), Defending Education reveals that teachers unions are no longer focused on providing quality education to students.
Research Director Rhyen Staley says they are now all about political influence and power.
"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," Staley tells AFN. "They are a political machine focused on fomenting a political revolution."
The findings from Defending Education include $669 million at the federal level and $336 million at the state/local level.
For example, California Teachers Association PACs spent more than $106 million and a teachers union in New York City spent more than $57 million on things like the State Engagement Fund ($60 million), For Our Future ($44 million), the Senate Majority PAC ($32 million), and the House Majority PAC ($25 million).
Additionally, millions went to oppose school choice in Kentucky ($7.2 million), Nebraska ($4.3 million) and Maine ($4.2 million), and more than $1.3 million was spent in a single Los Angeles school board race
Staley says parents, families and communities have little to no counter to the influence that teachers union dollars have on state and local campaigns, but he recommends parents speak with legislators about better transparency.
If a school board member receives money from the unions or from a group that has gotten money from unions, he says that needs to be transparent.
"The other thing I want people to get out of this is we need to start exposing more of this at the local level," Staley adds.
He says parents and community members need to start paying deeper attention to who is running for office.
