Posts tagged political activism
Flight Attendant Receives Nearly $1,000,000 Following Ruling Against Airline and Union
April 28, 2026 // Carter’s case began in 2017 when she sued both the union and airline in the Northern District Court of Texas for firing her in violation of both the federal Railway Labor Act (RLA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Through private communications, Carter had criticized the TWU Local 556 president for using union dues to send flight attendants to the 2017 “Women’s March” and also panned the union’s support for a host of divisive political positions. Title VII protects against religious discrimination in the workplace, while the RLA guards the right of workers in the air or rail industries to criticize union leadership. Five years later, a jury found in Carter’s favor, awarding her a $5 million verdict. The District Court ordered Southwest (NYSE: LUV) and the union to give Carter the maximum amount of compensatory and punitive damages permitted under federal law, in addition to other forms of relief.
Watchdog report exposes teachers union ‘political machine’ funneling more than $1 billion to liberal causes
April 27, 2026 // 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.
Opinion Aaron Withe: Why unions love the ‘Billionaire Tax’
March 12, 2026 // It has attracted a coalition of supporters — chief among them government employee unions. That might seem like an odd pairing, but the logic becomes clear once you trace where the money is supposed to go. Sanders’ legislation would redirect the projected revenue — $4.4 trillion over a decade — into an array of new federal spending programs, including direct cash payments, a federal salary floor for public school teachers and expanded Medicare benefits. Not coincidentally, pouring money into such programs means more federal employees, more union-eligible positions and more dues flowing into union bank accounts.
Op-ed: ‘The issue is the revolution’: Who is running your city’s teachers union?
March 4, 2026 // Under the banner of “social justice unionism,” teachers’ unions are increasingly treating classrooms, teachers, and even students as instruments in a wider ideological project — one organized, replicated, and funded across the nation. This shift helps explain why contemporary political controversies are now being filtered into elementary, middle and high schools. As one activist leader put it during the NEA Educators for Palestine webinar, the anti-ICE movement is “the spark that could ignite the fire under Labor.” As the saying goes, “The issue is never the issue — the issue is the revolution.”
Op-ed: Public employee unions facing final showdown
January 5, 2026 // Some have even been caught locking employees in rooms until they sign membership cards, as plaintiffs in one California lawsuit allege. When you’re spending 86 percent of your dues revenue on political causes that only a fraction of your members support, transparency becomes a threat. The $47.5 million workers are keeping this year represents more than a financial loss for unions. It means a loss of power to expand the size government, raise taxes, resist accountability and fund progressive causes and politicians
Cal State University unions seek notice of federal subpoenas in antisemitism investigation
December 10, 2025 // The conflict between Cal State and the employee unions comes amid a sweeping campaign by the White House to crack down on colleges and universities that it accuses of fostering political views with which it disagrees, including protesting Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and supporting the rights of transgender students. The University of California system and the University of Pennsylvania are among the colleges facing EEOC investigations alleging a hostile work environment for Jewish employees. Cal State says it has not received a subpoena related to the systemwide EEOC investigation and that there have not been any findings, settlement discussions or other federal actions in regard to it. The EEOC did not respond to a request seeking comment.
Unions spend big on politics — often at the expense of their members
December 2, 2025 // “When I signed my union membership card, I did not check the back saying I wanted to contribute to the union political action committee,” writes Marie Dupont, a teacher and NJEA member, in The Wall Street Journal. “That was a contract stating my dues wouldn’t go to the union political apparatus, but a handful of insiders ignored that choice and broke that trust.” NJEA funneled general funds through Garden State Forward, Working New Jersey, and Protecting Our Democracy — all election-focused organizations that not only backed Spiller but also were headed by the NJEA president. These questionable activities landed NJEA in court with a lawsuit alleging that the union misled its members, including Dupont, who is a lead plaintiff.
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.
Op-ed: How Teachers Can Dismantle the Teachers’ Unions
August 12, 2025 // Conservative and independent teachers, who make up the other 59 percent of the profession, are forced to fund their political opponents while union bosses like Weingarten, who pocketed over $600,000 in 2024, and Pringle, an at-large Democratic National Committee member raking in over half a million dollars annually, live lavishly. These union elites are an embarrassment to teachers who just want to teach reading, writing, and math.
Op-ed: Who Are Unions Really Fighting For?
June 20, 2025 // Let’s not forget: Weingarten’s AFT represents 1.7 million workers, including educators, healthcare professionals, and public servants across the country. Many of them are not Democrats. Many are centrists, independents, or conservatives. And yet their dues continue to support a relentless stream of partisan causes, political campaigns, and social crusades that often run completely counter to their own values. In fact, more than 90% of union political contributions go to Democrats – despite the fact that union households are politically diverse. Roughly 41% of union members voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 election, while 57% supported Kamala Harris. The disconnect is undeniable: nearly half of union members are effectively subsidizing political causes and candidates they do not support.