Public-Sector Unions Allocate Significant Dues Revenue to Progressive Political Causes, Report Finds

Public-sector unions have poured $915 million into political activities during the 2024 election cycle, with 86% of that money coming directly from member dues, according to a new report from the Commonwealth Foundation, a Pennsylvania-based free-market policy organization.

The report analyzes spending by the nation’s four largest public-sector unions: the National Education Association (NEA), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). This represents a significant increase from the $708 million these same unions spent on progressive politics during the 2022 election cycle, as documented in a previous report by the foundation.

The findings raise questions about whether union dues are being allocated in ways that best serve members’ interests. According to the report, just 25% of the unions’ total spending—approximately $642 million—goes toward “representational activities” directly supporting members. Meanwhile, about 33% ($845 million) covers general overhead, administration, and operational costs.

“What they’re doing when they’re making these political investments is they’re trying to get people into office that will raise taxes and increase the size and scope of government,” public-sector unions expert Aaron Withe told Fox News Digital. “That’s the way that it’s been working for decades. That’s why you see the government grows every single year, that’s why you see taxes go up most every year as well.”

Withe, a critic of both public and private-sector unions, noted a fundamental difference in incentive structures. While private-sector unions are constrained by their companies’ bottom lines, public-sector unions benefit from government expansion and higher taxes that enable hiring more public employees—who then become potential union members.

The political spending breakdown shows these unions collectively spent $755 million on federal elections and national progressive causes, plus another $160 million through state-level affiliates on state races and ideological initiatives. The report indicates that $650 million of this spending came directly from membership dues rather than from voluntary political action committee contributions.

David Osborne, Senior Director of Labor Policy for the Commonwealth Foundation and co-author of the report, questioned whether rank-and-file union members understand how their dues are being allocated.

“Years ago, [union members] could expect union executives to use dues to drive member services, including contract negotiations and grievance processing,” Osborne said. “Now, union members are unwittingly propping up left-leaning candidates and progressive causes like abortion, critical race theory, and defunding the police.”

Union dues are ostensibly not meant to go directly to political candidates, which is why unions also maintain separate Political Action Committees (PACs) funded through voluntary contributions. However, the report suggests that union leaders “launder” dues money through super PACs and 527 organizations to support political projects, a practice that many members may not be aware of.

The Commonwealth Foundation’s report emphasizes that PAC spending represented only 14% of the unions’ political expenditures, with the vast majority coming from regular member dues that many employees may assume are primarily supporting workplace representation.

“Government unions’ heavy use of membership dues money for politics—more than what they collectively spent on representational activities—underlines a disturbing trend: the growing, overt reliance by union officials to spend member dues rather than political action committee funds on their political and ideological agendas,” the report states.

This revelation comes amid ongoing national debates about the proper role of public-sector unions, their political influence, and whether members should have more control over how their dues are spent. Critics argue that current practices lack transparency and accountability, while supporters maintain that union political activities ultimately benefit workers by advocating for policies that protect labor rights and public services.

Fox News Digital reported reaching out to all four unions—NEA, AFT, SEIU, and AFSCME—for comment, but did not receive responses by publication time.