A newly disclosed labor filing shows the nation’s largest teachers union directing millions of dollars toward progressive political causes and social justice organizations, drawing criticism from watchdog groups over mission drift.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A federal labor disclosure has revealed that the National Education Association (NEA) directed millions of dollars in union funds to far-left activist groups, progressive ballot initiatives, and social justice organizations during the 2024 fiscal year, according to filings reported by Fox News.
The spending details are contained in a November Form L-2 disclosure filed with the U.S. Department of Labor and obtained by the North American Values Institute. The filing outlines extensive financial support for organizations and causes centered on social justice, progressive political advocacy, and election-related initiatives.
The NEA, which reports a membership exceeding 3 million educators nationwide, disclosed sending $300,000 to the Sixteen Thirty Fund, identified by Fox News as a liberal dark money group. The filing also shows tens of thousands of dollars flowing to the Tides Foundation network, which has been linked to anti-Israel demonstrations and a range of far-left causes.
Among the largest single expenditures was more than $3.5 million sent to Education International, a global federation of teachers’ unions. NEA President Becky Pringle serves as a vice president of that organization. The filing further details hundreds of thousands of dollars allocated to groups backing ballot initiatives aimed at reshaping education policy and election laws in states including Ohio, Massachusetts, Arizona, and Wisconsin.
According to the disclosure, the NEA spent $500,000 supporting a campaign to end standardized testing in Massachusetts, another $500,000 backing an anti-gerrymandering amendment in Ohio, and nearly $500,000 paid to a progressive political consulting firm specializing in ballot initiatives and canvassing operations.
The filing also shows substantial spending on consulting and training related to race and equity. The union paid more than $166,000 to Imagine Us LLC, a firm focused on racial equity training, along with tens of thousands of dollars to organizations promoting what they describe as “social justice education,” including curriculum materials centered on race, gender identity, and activism in K-12 classrooms.
In addition, the NEA reported a $350,000 payment to the Schott Foundation, which describes itself as “a BIPOC-led public fund that pools philanthropic funding and fuels racial and education justice movements.”
“This is the upshot of social justice unionism,” said Mika Hackner, director of research at the North American Values Institute. “Instead of focusing on member’s working conditions, unions spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on pet political projects completely divorced from the needs and wants of most teachers but perfectly in line with the political agenda the union has been co-opted to serve.”
The union has faced long-standing criticism for prioritizing political advocacy over classroom outcomes. In November, Fox News reported on internal NEA documents that instructed members on workplace gender transitions, including guidance on pronoun usage and combating transphobia, while also circulating materials that characterized conservative opposition as “villains.”
Following those disclosures, Erika Sanzi, senior director of communications for Defending Education, told Fox News Digital that the NEA’s federal charter should be reconsidered. “Their federal charter was granted because they promised to ‘elevate the character and advance the interests of the profession of teaching; and to promote the cause of education in the United States,’” Sanzi said. “Seeing as their leadership — and by extension, the organization itself — has morphed into a far-left insane asylum that is actively destroying the cause of education, that charter is no longer defensible.”
The newly surfaced filing has renewed scrutiny of how union dues are being used and whether the NEA’s political spending aligns with the expectations of its membership and its federally chartered mission.
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