‘PROGRESSIVE POLITICAL MACHINE’: America’s 4 Largest Unions Fund Politics Using Members’ Dues, Report Says

America’s four largest public sector unions spent more of their members’ dues on politics and activism than they did on the traditional “representational activities” for which unions exist (such as bargaining for higher wages and better benefits), according to a new report.

The National Education Association; the Service Employees Industrial Union; the American Federation of Teachers; and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees spent a combined $649 million on political and ideological agendas, and only a combined $642 million on “representational activities,” according to a report from the Commonwealth Foundation.

“Every month, union members unwittingly fund progressive causes,” David Osborne, the foundation’s senior director of labor policy and the report’s author, told The Daily Signal. “Their dues, the money expected to benefit their working conditions, negotiations, and benefits, is instead used to fund a progressive political machine.”

“Back-door money shuffling—through super PACs, partisan groups—has turned union members’ paychecks into a political arsenal,” he added. “And the worst part is, union members are kept in the dark about it all.”

“No worker should have their hard-earned money spent without their knowledge, especially on something as integral to First Amendment rights as political spending,” Osborne concluded. “Union executives must answer to why they believe their political power matters more than workers’ rights to accountability and transparency from their union.”

None of the four unions responded to The Daily Signal’s request for comment by publication time.

Union Pro-Democrat Spending

Many unions explicitly state that membership dues are not directed to political causes. The unions separately ask members for donations to their political action committees.

The Commonwealth Foundation report found that the PACs associated with the four unions spent $15.9 million (98.8% of spending) for Democrats in the 2023-2024 campaign cycle, and only $192,641 for Republicans (1.2%), which amounts to a ratio of 82.7 to 1.

The campaign to re-elect President Joe Biden, replaced by the campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris, received $4.9 million from the union PACs, while Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, also a Democrat, received a combined $2.5 million.

Where Did Union Dues Go?

Unions above a certain size must report their finances to the Department of Labor. These four unions spent only about 25% of members’ dues on “representational activities,” and another 33% ($845 million) on general overhead, administration, and staff benefits, according to the Commonwealth Foundation report.

As previously noted, the unions spent about $649 million—another quarter of their finances—on political and ideological agendas.

The report cites FEC data in claiming that the four unions and their affiliates sent over $135 million in members’ dues to their own election-engaged organizations (mostly groups that are tax exempt under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code).

The SEIU transferred $24.3 million of members dues to its affiliated 527, the SEIU Political Education and Action Fund, another $2.2 million to its super PAC, United We Can, and $22.3 million more to outside political groups.

The NEA and its affiliates sent $27.8 million to its super PAC, the NEA Advocacy Fund, and another $14.4 million to outside groups. The AFT funneled $19.5 million to its 527, AFT Solidarity, and nearly $11.2 million to outside groups. AFSCME sent $54.4 million to its affiliated 527, the Working Families Fund, and $13.5 million to outside groups.

The report mentions New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller, who ran for governor in the Garden State this year. The New Jersey Education Association, an NEA affiliate, used $48 million in union dues to indirectly support Spiller, the report noted. NJEA sent $40 million to the super PAC Working New Jersey, and another $8 million to Protecting Our Democracy, a group Spiller once chaired.

NJEA did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment.

Union Dues Backing Leftist Causes

The unions also spent $488 million supporting leftist causes often associated with Democratic Party politics, according to the report. The Commonwealth Foundation noted that the unions backed nonprofits that call for “economic redistribution, critical race theory, defunding the police, promoting abortion, and opposing school choice.”

The unions collectively contributed $18 million to For Our Future Action Fund, a progressive political committee co-founded by environmentalist Tom Steyer, for example.

They gave $2.1 million to the Center for American Progress, one of the most influential leftist groups suggesting policy in the Biden administration. They gave $850,000 to the Hopewell Fund and $310,800 to Sixteen Thirty Fund, both dark money nonprofits connected to the now-dissolved Arabella Advisors. They gave $200,000 to the Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation.

The unions also contributed $850,000 to Color of Change, an organization involved in “Defund the Police” campaigns, and $862,000 to Support Our Schools Nebraska, which advocated for the repeal of a school choice program in the Cornhusker state.

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