Teachers’ Union Spending

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Most of the nation’s largest unions must submit forms to the U.S. Department of Labor each year detailing how they spend their money. The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers fall under that directive. From the hundreds of pages in the teachers’ unions’ most recent filings, Education Week selected highlights. Although the Labor Department requires unions to use uniform categories, the NEA and the AFT do not necessarily categorize expenditures the same way.

NEA	AFT
Membership: 3.2 million teachers, paraprofessionals and schoolrelated personnel, and higher education faculty	Membership: 1.4 million teachers, paraprofessionals and school-related personnel, higher education faculty, nurses and other health-care professionals, local, state, and federal employees, and retired members
State affiliates: 50 Local affiliates: More than 14,000 Headquarters staff: About 555 Period covered: 9/1/2006 - 8/31/2007	State affiliates: 43 Local affiliates: About 3,000 Headquarters staff: 305 Period covered: 7/1/2006 - 6/30/2007

TOP SALARIES
Larry Wicks, Executive director, Education Minnesota, state NEA affiliate (until late 2007) ** $331,472 John Wilson, NEA executive director $284,008 Reg Weaver, President $271,473 Dennis Van Roekel, Vice president $252,648 John Stocks, Deputy executive director $242,216	Edward J. McElroy, President $289,884 Nathaniel LaCour, Treasurer $232,942 Antonia Cortese, Executive vice president $230,534 Ronald Krouse, Chief of staff $199,825 Philip Kugler, Organizing director $199,825
Number of salaries over $140,000: 95 Number of NEA-paid officers/employees: 750 % of employees receiving over $140,000: 12%	Number of salaries over $140,000: 17 Number of NEA-paid officers/employees: 346 % of employees receiving over $140,000: 4.9%
TOP CONTRIBUTIONS TO EXTERNAL ORGANIZATIONS
Economic Policy Institute $150,000 Communities United to Strengthen America $150,000 People for the American Way $125,000 Working America $100,000 National Staff Development Council $70,500 Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute $57,500	Economic Policy Institute $450,000 National Public Pension Coalition $135,000 National Labor College $125,000 American Rights at Work $100,000 William J. Clinton Foundation $60,000 NAACP $53,557
TOP WORKPLACE-REPRESENTATION AND RECRUITING EXPENSES
Member litigation costs: $21.12 million Member and staff education, including more than $1.2 million for NEA Today magazine and some $4 million for training related to contract negotiations and recruitment: $5.34 million Membership promotional materials: $2.56 million	Discretionary assistance for core organizing projects: $4.87 million Occupational liability insurance for affiliates’ members, directors, and officers: $2.17 million Legal fees incurred by New York State United Teachers while defending members: $2.11 million
POLITICAL-ACTIVITIES EXPENDITURES
Taking on state ballot measures in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Ohio, Oregon, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Utah: * $11,606,812 MSHC Partners, Washington (Contractual services: direct mail for member communication): $654,657 U.S. Postmaster (Political training for members and staff): $640,729 Bynum Thompson Ryer, Washington (Contractual services: direct mail for member communication): $633,005 Mack/Crounse Group, Alexandria, Va. (Contractual services: direct mail for member communication): $513,232 Terris, Barnes & Walters, San Francisco (Contractual services: political campaigns): $504,230**	Political Action Committee, COPE (Committee on Political Education) fund: $4 million Solidarity Fund (to fight ballot initiatives and referendum deemed to undermine workers’ rights, and to help state affiliates support candidates for state-level office): $2.3 million State affiliate political-organizing assistance: $472,000 Member education program costs: $377,000
SOURCE: National Education Association Notes: * The NEA includes in this category grants to affiliates for various initiatives. Includes severance pay. * Combined expenditures.	SOURCE: American Federation of Teachers

Analysis and compilation by Research Librarian Rachael Holovach, Assistant Editor Bess Keller, and Staff Writer Vaishali Honawar. Designed by Vanessa Solis.

To examine the full LM-2s, as they are known, go to the Labor Department’s Web site at: http://erds.dol-esa.gov/query/getOrgQry.do
A version of this article appeared in the March 05, 2008 edition of Education Week as Teachers’ Union Spending

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