A watchdog analysis alleged that American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten used more than $1.4 million in union resources to produce her 2025 book while routing a portion of royalties to a Delaware limited liability company linked to her.
The Freedom Foundation examined the union’s federal LM-2 disclosure covering July 2024 through June 2025 and found large payments to consultants, including more than $400,000 to commentator Sally Kohn during the book’s development. Weingarten’s publisher described the work as a manifesto on public education.
The analysis said $375,000 in advance royalties from InkWell Management was split among the union, two AFT-affiliated charities and an entity called Teachers Want What Kids Need. Weingarten had publicly pledged half of proceeds to union charities, but the watchdog said charities received $125,000 combined.
AFT disputed the characterization and called the review a politically motivated fishing expedition. Union officers are legally obligated to use member dues solely for organizational benefit. Weingarten’s total compensation from the union exceeded $469,000 during the reporting period, according to the filing.
The Freedom Foundation said AFT also paid roughly $977,000 to an attorney whose work included book-related tasks Weingarten described as partly pro bono. More than $64,000 went to InkWell Management, her literary agency. Maxford Nelson of the watchdog group said most of the union’s 1.8 million members expect dues to fund workplace representation rather than executive publishing projects.
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Sources:
https://dailycuratednews.substack.com/p/news-headlines-may-22-2026