A new report from watchdog group Defending Education has revealed that teacher unions have donated massive sums of money to far-left groups and causes that have nothing to do with educating the nation’s children.
This is one of the reasons that schools are failing our kids. These unions care more about Planned Parenthood and protesting Republicans than they do about teaching children how to read and do math.
FOX News reports:
Watchdog report exposes teachers union ‘political machine’ funneling more than $1 billion to liberal causesA new pair of reports is shedding fresh light on how teachers unions across the country have quietly poured more than $1 billion into political causes over the past decade, with a top education watchdog warning the spending reflects a growing focus on activism rather than classroom priorities.According to research from Defending Education, national teachers unions alone have directed roughly $669 million toward left-wing political groups, advocacy organizations and campaigns since 2015. When state and local affiliates are included, that figure balloons to more than $1 billion in total political spending.The reports track spending from the two largest unions, the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), as well as their state-level affiliates, using federal filings and campaign finance records.”These entities are a political machine,” Rhyen Staley, research director at Defending Education, told Fox News Digital.”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. 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 Center Square notes that the report includes this tidbit about protests:
Report: Teacher’s union gives nearly 2M to org that trains for May Day protestsAn education group has uncovered that teacher’s union the National Education Association has given nearly two million dollars in donations since 2020 to an organization that trains for May Day school “walk-in” protests, as well as demands agendas such as “tax the rich” and the removal of ICE.Defending Education – the organization that released the report – director of research Rhyen Staley told The Center Square that “teachers unions turning children into far-left political pawns is a betrayal of the public trust.”“Gone are the days of these public sector unions simply fighting for better wages, insurance, and working conditions,” Staley said. “They are leftwing political activist organizations who benefit fiscally from taxpayer dollars.”Staley made the point that “roughly 70% of American students are not proficient in reading and math, yet the teachers unions are using their influence and positions of power and authority to train children to protest and agitate for far-left causes.”“This reinforces that the unions’ priorities are about advancing a radical political agenda, not the education of America’s children,” Staley said.
This is simply no longer about education. It is very plainly about left-wing indoctrination.
I don’t pretend to know how to fix this, but it cannot continue in this way.
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