DivertED: Teachers Unions’ compensation

Investigations

Total teachers unions spending on compensation: $8,490,982,313

Total AFT and NEA spending on compensation: $1,470,374,367

Total state teachers unions on compensation: $6,219,634,699

Number of states covered in the report: 50 plus the District of Columbia (DC)

Total local teachers unions on compensation: $789,255,644

Total local teachers unions in the report: 10

SUMMARY

From 2016 through 2023, national, state, and select local teachers unions have spent over $8.4 Billion on “Salaries, other compensation, employee benefits” from members dues according to organization Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) reporting documents. Teachers unions featured in this report include the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the National Education Association (NEA), state-level teachers unions from all fifty states and the District of Columbia, and ten local-level teachers unions from California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington.

For the sake of consistency, the report relies upon the IRS Form 990 for each national, state, and local teachers union. It uses Part I, line 15 (“Expenses” – “Salaries, other compensation, employee benefits”) to collect compensation spending over the listed timeframe.

Unfortunately, not all teachers unions’ 990s are available for 2024 or 2025 and therefore are not included in this report at the time of its release. These numbers will be updated when the information becomes available.

Addendum

Even though the report does not utilize LM-2 documents from the U.S. Department of Labor’s “Office of Labor-Management Standards” because of inconsistencies in submissions by state and local teachers unions, a review of submitted reporting documents yields additional insights into teachers union spending on salaries and compensation.

Utilizing reporting data from “Gross Salary Disbursements” under “Schedule 11 – All Officers and Disbursements to Officers” and “Schedule 12 – Disbursements to Employees,” the National Education Association (NEA) increased yearly spending on salaries by $13.4M from 2023/24 to 2024/25 (from $71,329,006 to $84,766,917). In fact, a comparison of the 2015/16 and 2024/25 reporting cycles revealed that the NEA increased yearly salary spending by over $14M, yet lost over 122,618 members (2015/16 vs. 2024/25).

Comparing the 2015/16 and 2024/25 reporting cycles, a similar review of available state level teachers unions LM-2s revealed the following:

  • The Florida Education Association (FEA) increased yearly gross salary spending by $4.8M but lost over 12,000 members.
  • The Michigan Education Association (MEA) increased yearly gross salary spending by $4.6M but lost 7,990 members.
  • The Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) increased yearly gross salary spending by $9.7M but lost 3,443 members.
  • New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) decreased yearly gross salary spending by $3.2M but saw an increase of 67,204 members.

Additionally, a review of the latest LM-2s from the AFT and NEA yielded the following:

  • The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) paid 273 officers and employees “gross” salaries over $100,000. Another 53 officers and employees received salaries of $50,000 to $99,999. The total number of individuals receiving any form of disbursement from the teachers union was 383.
  • The National Education Association (NEA) paid 475 officers and employees “gross” salaries over $100,000. Another 46 officers and employees received salaries of $50,000 to $99,999. The total number of individuals receiving any form of disbursement from the teachers union was 708.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • The teachers unions have spent over $1 Billion per year on officer and staff compensation using members dues.
  • Over $5.1B (61%) of officer and employee compensation spending comes from fourteen state teachers unions and one local (United Federation of Teachers). Those states include California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington.
  • The California Teachers Association (CTA) spent $775M+ since 2016 on salaries and compensation.
  • Education Minnesota spent $220M+ on compensation since 2016.
  • The New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) spent $524,535,688 on compensation since 2016.
  • New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) and United Federation of Teachers (New York City) spent a combined $1,333,386,938 on compensation since 2016.
  • According to Washington state based Washington Education Association (WEA) documents, WEA has spent $2,483,189 on “Racial, Social, and Economic Justice” since 2022; which includes $467,995 for “Salaries/ Compensation.” The WEA defines “Racial, Social, and Economic Justice” as a program that “facilitates equitable policies within the Association and outreach towards minority groups.”

TEACHERS UNIONS COMPENSATION SPENDING

Below is a list of all teachers unions captured in this report and includes the amount they have spent on “Salaries, other compensation, [and] employee benefits” from 2016-2023.

NATIONAL TEACHERS UNIONS

American Federation of Teachers

  • $506,977,529

National Education Association

  • $963,369,838

STATE AND LOCAL TEACHERS UNIONS

ALABAMA

Alabama Education Association

  • $ 68,220,400

ALASKA

National Education Association – Alaska

  • $34,710,065

ARIZONA

Arizona Education Association

  • $38,978,619 

ARKANSAS

Arkansas Education Association

  • $13,491,955 

CALIFORNIA

California Federation of Teachers

  • $63,359,431 

California Teachers Association

  • $775,190,250 

United Teachers Los Angeles

  • $94,757,520 

COLORADO

Colorado Education Association

  • $ 62,893,579

Denver Classroom Teachers Association

  • $6,862,351 

CONNECTICUT

American Federation of Teachers Connecticut

  • $ 40,082,077

Connecticut Education Association

  • $ 130,838,073

DELAWARE

Delaware State Education Association

  • $319,345 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Washington Teachers Union

  • $ 11,717,603

FLORIDA

Florida Education Association

  • $ 132,627,266

Broward Teachers Union

  • $18,540,208

United Teachers of Dade

  • $ 28,956,598

GEORGIA

Georgia Association of Educators

  • $ 28,983,152

HAWAI’I

Hawai’i State Teachers Association

  • $42,269,024 

IDAHO

Idaho Education Association

  • $25,523,150 

ILLINOIS

Illinois Education Association

  • $316,273,976 

Illinois Federation of Teachers (AFT)

  • $132,168,877 

Chicago Teachers Union

  • $69,227,016 

INDIANA

Indiana State Teachers Association

  • $86,335,708 

IOWA

Iowa State Education Association

  • $82,622,663 

KANSAS

Kansas National Education Association

  • $49,953,164 

KENTUCKY

Kentucky Education Association

  • $ 56,256,711

LOUISIANA

Louisiana Association of Educators

  • $14,047,637 

MAINE

Maine Education Association

  • $ 53,355,645

MARYLAND

Maryland State Education Association

  • $ 124,414,358

MASSACHUSETTS

American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts

  • $ 31,028,118

Massachusetts Teachers Association

  • $ 256,919,855

Boston Teachers Union

  • $ 23,309,095

MICHIGAN

American Federation of Teachers Michigan

  • $ 23,333,404

Michigan Education Association

  • $ 267,097,055

MINNESOTA

Education Minnesota

  • $ 200,811,386

MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi Association of Educators

  • $ 9,558,850

MISSOURI

Missouri National Education Association

  • $ 46,602,970

MONTANA

Montana Federation of Public Employees

  • $ 46,237,391

NEBRASKA

Nebraska State Education Association

  • $ 48,265,857

NEVADA

Nevada State Education Association

  • $ 25,116,374

Clark County Education Association

  • $ 23,793,181

NEW HAMPSHIRE

National Education Association New Hampshire

  • $ 44,135,013

NEW JERSEY

New Jersey Education Association

  • $ 524,535,688

NEW MEXICO

National Education Association of New Mexico

  • $ 16,778,826

NEW YORK

New York State United Teachers

  • $ 856,048,393

United Federation of Teachers (NYC Teachers)

  • $ 477,338,545

NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina Association of Educators

  • $ 35,516,013

NORTH DAKOTA

North Dakota United

  • $ 23,837,891

OHIO

Ohio Education Association

  • $ 264,837,483

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma Education Association

  • $ 27,016,888

OREGON

Oregon Education Association

  • $ 151,436,874

PENNSYLVANIA

Pennsylvania State Education Association

  • $ 387,077,126

Philadelphia Federation of Teachers

  • $ 27,114,341

RHODE ISLAND

National Education Association Rhode Island

  • $ 24,910,611

SOUTH CAROLINA

South Carolina Education Association

  • $ 10,476,497

SOUTH DAKOTA

South Dakota Education Association

  • $ 15,354,570

TENNESSEE

Tennessee Education Association

  • $ 55,455,432

TEXAS

Texas American Federation of Teachers

  • $20,837,851

Texas State Teachers Association

  • $60,249,543

UTAH

Utah Education Association

  • $23,083,294

VERMONT

Vermont National Education Association

  • $35,139,674

VIRGINIA

Virginia Education Association

  • $70,737,697

WASHINGTON

Washington Education Association

  • $182,992,743

Seattle Education Association

  • $19,356,743

WEST VIRGINIA

West Virginia Education Association

  • $14,513,136

WISCONSIN

Wisconsin Education Association Council

  • $46,533,704

WYOMING

Wyoming Education Association

  • $243,367