Posts tagged Defending Education
Taxpayer-backed teacher unions receive $390M in dues
February 19, 2026 // Since 2022, the NEA and the American Federation of Teachers have together contributed $43.5 million to political organizations, including The Trevor Project, according to a report by the nonprofit Defending Education.
The Absurdity of the Nation’s Largest Teachers’ Union
December 3, 2025 // Membership training for the National Education Association (NEA), America’s largest teachers’ union, makes the organization’s priorities unmistakably clear. Defending Education, a watchdog group, recently obtained pre-attendance and participant materials for the NEA’s training session, “Advancing LGBTQ+ Justice,” which begins today. The documents, considered alongside other union programming, reveal the NEA’s fixation on identity politics.
Largest US teachers’ union to host training that attacks Republicans as ‘racist and transphobic’
November 25, 2025 // America’s largest teachers’ union accused Republicans of promoting “racist and transphobic troupes” in teaching materials for an upcoming training program, according to documents obtained by a conservative activist group. The National Education Association is hosting a training from Dec. 2-4 at an undisclosed location called “Advancing LGBTQ+ Justice and Transgender Advocacy” aimed at dismantling “strategic racism and transphobia,” the group Defending Education uncovered. The group released information on the training that is targeted for union staff and teams as part of the NEA UniServ and Organizing Training Program 2025–2026.
Parental Rights Groups Rip Teachers Union Bosses Boycotting Target Instead Of Helping Kids
September 4, 2025 // Weingarten stated the union “rarely engage[s] in this type of action, but we’re doing so here because Target betrayed promises to communities of color throughout the United States.” However, a recent report from Defending Education (DE) found that AFT has funneled millions of dollars in membership dues toward political activism, including to organizations such as the Trevor Project, an organization that supports “affirming” gender-confused children.
Nation’s 2 largest teachers unions funneled nearly $50M to left-wing groups, watchdog report says
August 25, 2025 // Left-wing philanthropic behemoths like the Tides Network, New Venture Fund, Sixteen-Thirty Fund and Future Forward, the last of which was the main Super PAC supporting Kamla Harris' 2024 presidential run after former President Joe Biden dropped out, all received a combined nearly $1.5 million from the unions, according to the report. The unions also forked over significant amounts of cash for groups that focus on supporting left-wing candidates for public office, such as the Democratic Governors Association, Democrat's House Majority and Senate Majority PACs. Other groups they have donated to include major left-wing think tanks like the Center for American Progress and its 501(c)(4) arm, which received close to a million dollars since 2022 from the two unions.