Hyperpoliticized teachers unions

About 70% of the nation’s public school teachers belong to a union or employees’ association. The two largest teachers unions, the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), together represent about 4.7 million members. Politically, according to a study by Pew Research, about 58% of public school K-12 teachers identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, compared to about 35% who identify with or lean toward the Republican Party. Last year, NEA President Rebecca Pringle told a Philadelphia public radio station that her organization’s membership is “nearly evenly split between Democrats, Republicans and independents.” Whether that is true or not, we’ve known for a long time that the union’s leadership does not reflect the diversity of its membership; it donates the vast majority of the organization’s money to liberal, progressive and Democratic causes and candidates. A new compilation of data shows just how much.