The national nonprofit group Defending Education recently released a report highlighting the funds spent since 2022 by the nation’s two largest teachers’ unions, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA).
Minnesota’s teachers’ union, Education Minnesota, is associated with both national unions and pays dues to each group.
Both AFT and NEA have given a combined $43,524,123 to both leftwing and far-left political organizations since 2022. This figure includes both political campaign funding and grants to political advocacy groups. Some organizations receiving funds include state and federal leftwing political action committees (PACs), The Sixteen Thirty Fund, Protect Constitutional Abortion Rights, Red Wine & Blue, and the Democratic Governor’s Association. $63,000 was given to Minnesota’s own organization Alliance for a Better Minnesota, which exists to “hold conservatives accountable” and “increase support for progressive ideas.”
Minnesota teachers’ union members generally spend about $1,000 a year in dues. Teachers pay just over $258 to the national unions (both the NEA and AFT), $528 to Education Minnesota, and then a varying amount to the local union affiliate, typically around $120 or so. Dues are automatically deducted from teachers’ paychecks.
Education Minnesota’s website argues that these dues are put to good use, saying that
While far from perfect, our union and the broader labor movement have a proud and long history of advancing civil and human rights. Education Minnesota helps empower educators in all parts of the state to challenge inequitable situations and work with students, parents, and school leaders to create schools and campuses where everyone can thrive. Recent success: With eight Racial Equity Advocate cohorts, we have almost 200 members who are trained and ready to build power together to dismantle systemic racism.
While the rhetoric of collaborative empowerment is pleasant, Minnesota’s educators seem to disagree with the claim that Education Minnesota’s political donations actually lead to a thriving Minnesota — union membership has declined recently.
Not all teachers feel represented by leftist political donations. A 2024 PEW survey found that about a third or more of teachers trust neither political party to do a better job than the other on a range of educational issues; over a third of public K-12 teachers lean to the right politically. Teachers’ unions, particularly the AFT and NEA, have progressed steadily leftward since their origins over a century ago, and partisan political spending has subsequently progressed with it.
In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court case Janus v. AFSCME made mandatory union fees for public sector employees illegal. Minnesota teachers no longer have to financially support a government union as a mandatory requirement of their job.
During the month of September only, Minnesota’s educators enter an union opt-out period where they can reexamine their commitment to Education Minnesota. Since Janus, American Experiment’s Educated Teachers project has helped Minnesota educators across the state exercise their right to opt out of union membership. Choosing to opt out of a teacher’s union is not a statement against teachers or the teaching profession. Rather, it is a legally protected method of letting unions know that they are not adequately representing the voice of teachers.
Teachers who wish to advocate for their beliefs within the teachers’ union should consider joining a local leadership committee.
