New analysis of federal financial disclosures reveals hundreds of thousands in union spending on ghostwriting, photography, legal review, and promotion of Why Fascists Fear Teachers

Olympia, WA — The Freedom Foundation today released a new investigative report detailing how the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in member dues to finance the writing, publication, and promotion of union president Randi Weingarten’s book, Why Fascists Fear Teachers.

The report, authored by Freedom Foundation Director of Research and Government Affairs Maxford Nelsen, is based on a thorough analysis of AFT’s most recent Form LM-2 annual financial disclosure filed with the U.S. Department of Labor.

Among the findings:

• AFT paid over $400,000 to Sally Kohn — identified in the book’s acknowledgements as a “day-to-day thought partner and collaborator” — far exceeding the $323,000 the union had paid Kohn in the five prior years combined

• AFT paid $6,000 for fact-checking, $5,212 for Weingarten’s author photograph, and $64,090 in publication expenses to InkWell Management, a Penguin Random House literary agency that lists AFT as a client

• AFT made nearly $1 million in payments to a New York law firm whose attorney is credited in the book’s acknowledgements for conducting a legal review of the manuscript 

• Despite Weingarten’s public claims that half of all book proceeds would go to AFT charities, financial records suggest the charities received only one-third of early royalties — with another $125,000 paid to Weingarten herself via a newly created, opaque Delaware LLC called Teachers Want What Kids Need

“Most AFT members pay dues in exchange for workplace representation — not to fund their union president’s book tour,” said Maxford Nelsen, Freedom Foundation Director of Research and Government Affairs. “AFT’s own financial records indicate that AFT members footed the entire bill for Weingarten’s book while she took the opportunity to profit handsomely and burnish her personal brand. She owes AFT’s 1.8 million members an apology and their money back.” 

“Randi Weingarten has spent decades positioning herself as a champion of teachers,” said Freedom Foundation CEO Aaron Withe. “This report shows what that actually looks like in practice — union dues paying for ghostwriters, agents, and a personal photographer, while the workers who funded it all get a book about how great their union president is.”

The full report can be found here.