Country’s largest labor union continues one-sided donations to Democrat candidates

The National Education Association (NEA), the country’s largest labor union, has raised almost $27 million in support of Democrat candidates across the nation.

The NEA, which boasts over 3 million members, formally endorsed Kamala Harris and Tim Walz for the 2024 presidential election.

The endorsement continues an alarming trend of labor unions wielding their influence to affect election outcomes at the local, state and federal levels despite the diverse political views of their members.

OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan organization that tracks political donations, ranks the NEA as the Democrats’ 11th highest donor for total fundraising and total dollars spent. The NEA has already donated over $3 million directly to the Harris campaign.

In addition, “the vast majority of the union super PAC’s expenditures – $6.9 million total this election cycle – went to other super PACs supporting Democrats,” The 74 reports. 

“As of Oct. 8, the NEA Advocacy Fund had given $2.5 million to Future Forward USA Action, the pro-Harris super PAC and the biggest in American politics. It also doled out $1.5 million each to the House Majority PAC and the Senate Majority PAC in an effort to maintain Democrats’ razor-thin majority in the Senate and pick up seats … in the House.” 

The report also details another $1.5 million the NEA’s super PAC has spent this election cycle for online, radio and mail ads in support of various Democrat candidates. The list of candidates receiving support includes Democrat candidates Rep. John Mannion in New York, Raquel Teran, running in Arizona’s 3rd congressional district and incumbent Sen. John Tester from Montana. 

It has also supported incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio to the tune of $1.7 million, funneling that money through a separate PAC, Educators for Ohio, as Brown aims to fend off a surging challenge from Republican Bernie Moreno. 

This month the NEA also announced a joint venture with several of the country’s other large labor unions – the American Federation of Teachers, the Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. 

This partnership is reportedly geared toward voter outreach in the battleground states. 

Ultimately, The 74 concludes, labor unions have played a disproportionate role in so-called swing state elections, especially since 2020.