Posts tagged United Federation of Teachers
Teachers’ Union Boss Vows ‘All-Out-War’ if Mamdani Doesn’t Back Bonuses
July 27, 2026 // The legislation would cost New York City $325 million. The Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan watchdog group that opposes the bill, warned that it would set a “dangerous precedent” by encouraging unions to bypass the bargaining table and appeal directly to lawmakers.
Americans For Fair Treatment Exposes AFT Ahead of D.C. Convention
July 15, 2026 // A new “Where Do Your Union Dues Go?” report examines the national union’s most recent IRS filing, federal lobbying disclosures and Federal Election Commission records. The findings reveal an organization that paid its president nearly $600,000, spent $72 million on its own workforce, suffered consecutive operating deficits and directed nearly all contributions from its separate federal political action committee to Democratic-aligned recipients. The report arrives as delegates prepare to consider a 204-page book of proposed constitutional amendments and resolutions at the union’s biennial convention.
House launches probe into AFT boss Randi Weingarten tapping teachers’ union spending to write ‘manifesto’ book
July 8, 2026 // As part of its sweeping investigation, it requested Weingarten turn over by July 21 all AFT expenditures related to the drafting, publishing, promoting and tour activities associated with the book; all agreements between AFT and outside parties and documents of all work performed by AFT employees on the book. See Also An image collage containing 2 images, Image 1 shows Randi Weingarten holding her book "Why Fascists Fear Teachers: Public Education and the Future of Democracy", Image 2 shows Randi Weingarten holding a copy of her book, "Why Fascists Fear Teachers: Public Education and the Future of Democracy." AFT boss Randi Weingarten tapped union resources worth over $1.4M to write ‘manifesto’ book Walberg and Allen said they have a responsibility to ensure that unions representing American workers operate “transparently and that union members receive a full accounting of how their dues are utilized.”
Commentary: NY unions put a target on my back — for helping their members escape
June 22, 2026 // A few days ago, at the tail end of its legislative session, Albany lawmakers passed a bill giving Attorney General Letitia James sweeping new powers to investigate and fine any organization — even those based in other states — for communications she determines to “falsely impersonate” a union. The fine is $1,000 per incident: $1,000 for every mailer or email my group, the Freedom Foundation, sends to tens of thousands of workers annually. The bill claims it’s meant to stop the impersonation of union representatives, but its real purpose is to stop groups like mine from telling public employees what their unions don’t want them to know: That they have a constitutional right to decline union membership and dues without losing their jobs.
AFT boss Randi Weingarten tapped union resources worth over $1.4M to write ‘manifesto’ book
May 20, 2026 // “Most AFT members pay dues in exchange for workplace representation, not to fund the union president’s literary pursuits,” said Maxford Nelsen, the Freedom Foundation’s director of research and government affairs. “However, AFT appears to have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in members’ dues on top-tier consultants, lawyers, and agents to get WFFT published,” Nelson went on. “Indeed, the wide range of expenses borne by AFT suggests that Weingarten may not have contributed anything at all financially to the enterprise.” Weingarten is paid $469,442 by the AFT, which boasts 1.8 million members across 3,000 local affiliates. She admitted to sharing royalties with the union and its nonprofit affiliates.
NY patients come last as 1199 SEIU angles for $200M-a-year Medicaid payday
December 15, 2025 // Hochul’s law makes PPL a private “employer,” so unionizing its caregivers would mean 1199 could force every one of them to pay a 2% tribute — or get fired. At the current number of CDPAP caregivers, 1199 would snag another $200 million a year. PPL is likely cooperating because doing so is something akin to buying protection from mobsters. Everyone in Albany has seen the 1199-financed attack ads lobbed at governors and other state officials who question the size or efficacy of Medicaid. If this unionization scheme succeeds, such public lobbying would explode. The union won’t just have an incentive to keep the caregiver sign-up rules loose — it will have a fiduciary duty to keep wasting public money, and to pressure lawmakers for more.
Unions Brace to Bargain With New Boss Zohran Mamdani
December 2, 2025 // At a party during SOMOS, the annual Puerto Rico getaway for New York’s political class, District Council 37 executive director Henry Garrido proudly introduced Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to a packed outdoor crowd at the Caribe Hilton of jubilant union officials, political insiders and government lobbyists. Just days after Mamdani’s election, the public display of support from the union leader — highlighted with a hug — underscored the emerging alliance between the incoming mayor and the leader of New York City’s largest public-sector union. That bond is about to be tested, or at least leaned on more than ever before
Op-Ed: Mayor Adams seeks to pour more good money after bad in surrender to teaching unions before election
December 2, 2024 // This is madness: The city Department of Education spends about $30,000 per student; there’s no reason to spend even more on schools that are teaching ever-fewer kids. No reason except for the fact that those schools would need to lay off teachers to meet their new budgets, and the UFT is outraged at the thought of losing a dime in dues.
UFT Lawsuit Against MTA over Congestion Pricing Opens Discussions over Membership-wide Voting
January 30, 2024 // This is not the first time that the union has made unilateral decisions outside of membership input. In March of 2023, Mulgrew faced significant membership backlash over a controversial switch to a privately run Medicare Advantage plan for retirees, now managed by Aetna. Mulgrew played a key role in negotiating the health plan change, which members challenged by circulating a petition, demanding a membership-wide vote prior to “significant changes to active and/or retired members’ healthcare.” “We call for a membership-wide vote for any significant changes to active and/or retired members’ healthcare. These include any significant changes of our healthcare carriers, limits to our choice of healthcare carriers, or institutions of or raises to premiums, deductibles or copayments, etc.,” read the petition by UFT activist group Educators of NYC.
NYC Teachers, Migrant Students, and The Clash of Two Titans
January 27, 2024 // Among those policies were Assembly Bill A6328A and Senate Bill S9460. SB 9460 placed a mandatory limitation on the number of students per teacher—which will predominantly benefit wealthier areas. According to an analysis from the city’s Independent Budget Office (IBO), the law will require at least an additional 17,700 new teachers by 2027—when the law takes full effect. Officials have tried to warn of the law’s cost tradeoffs, namely that because the city’s highest-poverty schools already have smaller classes, they stand to benefit the least from the state’s class size cap. This means that funding will benefit wealthier areas, as opposed to the highest-poverty areas. Assembly Bill A6328A, also supported by UFT, codified migrants as a protected class, extending the right to a free education for every resident between the ages of 5 to 21, regardless of citizenship status. Since the new laws have passed, it’s estimated that 53,000 new migrant students have enrolled into public schools, 85% of which are non-English speaking.