Use Taxpayer Dollars to Push Leftist Politics—While Our Kids and Schools Suffer
The latest report from Politico shines a light on a growing problem in America: teachers unions have become political machines, more focused on funding progressive candidates and pushing woke agendas than actually improving education.
Take the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) in New York, for example. Under the leadership of Michael Mulgrew, the union has spent millions of dollars on political campaigns, including nearly $4 million to support a failed mayoral bid. And they’re not alone. At the national level, the National Education Association (NEA) and American Federation of Teachers (AFT) funnel millions of dollars into left-wing politics every year, with over 94% of political contributions going directly to Democrats.
Now stop and ask yourself:
Where does this money come from?
The answer is simple: taxpayer-funded union dues.
Public school teachers—whose salaries are funded by taxpayers—pay mandatory union dues in many states. Those dues are then weaponized by the unions to bankroll political activism, elect leftist politicians, and block conservative reforms. So, in reality, taxpayers are being forced to fund the very radical politics undermining their communities and their children’s education.
Unions Care More About Politics Than Students
Here’s the real problem: while unions like the NEA, AFT, and UFT are dumping millions into elections, our schools are failing.
- Test scores are plummeting.
- Chronic absenteeism is skyrocketing.
- Kids are graduating without basic reading and math skills.
- And classrooms are flooded with divisive, agenda-driven curricula focused on Critical Race Theory (CRT), gender ideology, and political indoctrination.
Instead of fighting for higher standards, discipline, or academic excellence, teachers unions are fighting for pronoun policies, drag queen story hours, and DEI coordinators.
Meanwhile, who’s fighting for the students?
Certainly not the unions.
When parents demand school choice, curriculum transparency, or better outcomes, it’s the unions leading the charge to shut them down. Why? Because unions are protecting their own power, not students’ futures.
Why Is This Happening?
Because the unions have transformed into political special interest groups. Their priority is no longer education—it’s raw political influence.
They pour money into campaigns to elect officials who will protect their monopoly. Then those same politicians block school choice, protect bad teachers, and ensure no accountability for failing schools. It’s a closed-loop system, funded by your tax dollars.
Just look at Idaho. Even in one of the most conservative states in the country, the Idaho Education Association (IEA) has managed to buy influence with Republican lawmakers. During the HB 98 vote—which aimed to block taxpayer funds from propping up teacher unions—20 Republicans voted against it. Why? Well, 11 of those Republicans had been endorsed by the IEA in 2024.
The same pattern repeats across the country:
- Taxpayer-funded union dues
- Political donations
- Elect union-friendly politicians
- Block education reform
- Keep dues flowing
- Repeat.
And Who Pays the Price?
Students. Parents. Taxpayers.
Instead of focusing on fixing failing schools, improving literacy rates, or preparing kids for the future, the education system has been hijacked by adults who are more interested in advancing leftist causes than teaching the next generation.
And as the unions grow richer and more powerful, our kids fall further behind.
The Bottom Line
Teachers unions have become the single most destructive force in public education.
- They fight against parents.
- They fight against school choice.
- They fight against accountability.
- And they fund radical politics on the backs of taxpayers.
It’s time for taxpayers, parents, and lawmakers to stand up and say enough.
We should not be forced to fund political activism under the guise of education.
If we want to save our schools—and our country—we have to break the union machine.
That starts with cutting off taxpayer subsidies, supporting school choice, and returning our classrooms to what they’re supposed to be: places of learning, not indoctrination centers.
HB 98 in Idaho was just the beginning. Now it’s time for every state in America to follow suit.
