Utah Teachers Union Faces Lawsuit Over Political Spending Claims
Watchdog and Teacher Allege Deception in Union’s Political Activities
In a legal challenge that highlights tensions between teachers’ unions and their critics, the Freedom Foundation and a longtime Utah educator have filed a lawsuit against the Utah Education Association (UEA), claiming the union falsely told members their dues don’t fund political activities. The lawsuit, filed in Utah’s 3rd District Court, features Cole Kelley, a 29-year teaching veteran and Republican member of the Utah State Board of Education, alongside the Freedom Foundation, an organization that describes its mission as liberating public employees from political exploitation. Together, they’re challenging what they characterize as misleading statements about how teachers’ union dues are spent in the political arena. Their suit seeks modest damages of $2,000 each, but aims to bring transparency to union operations that they believe lean heavily to the left politically.
The lawsuit specifically targets statements published by the UEA on its website and social media accounts around March 2025, when the union allegedly claimed that “UEA member dues are never used for political activities.” According to the Freedom Foundation, they contacted the UEA about this claim in May, asserting it violated Utah’s Truth in Advertising Act. The union subsequently modified its statement to say “UEA member dues are never used for political parties or candidates” – a revision that the plaintiffs maintain is still false. The legal filing outlines examples of what it describes as “dues-funded” contributions to political committees in Utah, including over $30,000 allegedly given by the UEA to a group called Protect Utah Workers through four separate contributions in April 2025.
At the heart of the lawsuit is how UEA dues flow through the larger structure of teachers’ union finances. The filing explains that UEA members pay a single dues rate that gets divided among local affiliates, the state association, and the National Education Association (NEA). The plaintiffs contend that the NEA uses its portion of those funds to support or oppose political parties and candidates, spending millions each year primarily through the NEA Advocacy Fund. The suit alleges the NEA contributed approximately $35,000 to Protect Utah Workers through five payments in April 2025. Maxford Nelsen, research director at the Freedom Foundation, stated that while unions like the UEA operate political action committees funded by voluntary contributions, “the vast majority of teachers unions’ political spending is financed with member dues, and the UEA is no different.”
For Kelley, this lawsuit represents a personal conviction that the union isn’t being transparent with its members. He recalls that when he ran for the state education board position as a Republican, the UEA contributed financially to his opponent. “There’s no question that they are left-leaning,” Kelley explained, pointing to campaign donation patterns, especially at the NEA level, which he says “by a very large margin, support the Democratic Party and are making significant donations to Democrat candidates for office.” His frustration stems from what he perceives as dishonesty: “I feel like what they’re telling their members and those teachers that do choose to join their organization – they’re not being forthright, they’re not being honest – they’re telling half-truths, mis-truths and sometimes flat-out lies.”
The lawsuit has gained attention from other critics of teachers’ unions. Ryan Walters, former Oklahoma state superintendent who now leads the Teacher Freedom Alliance, a union alternative supporting educators who want to teach “free from ideological bias,” weighed in on the legal action. “This lawsuit exposes what teachers unions have long tried to hide: a coordinated taxpayer-funding scheme that funnels dues into radical political activism aimed at undermining America,” Walters claimed, adding that “the abuse of both teachers and taxpayers will not go unnoticed, and these organizations will be held accountable.” His organization represents one of several alternatives emerging for educators who feel traditional unions don’t align with their values.
When contacted about the allegations, the UEA declined to comment on the pending litigation, maintaining silence on the specific claims made in the lawsuit. The NEA did not respond to requests for comment, leaving the plaintiffs’ allegations unanswered in the public sphere. This legal challenge comes amid a broader national conversation about the role of teachers’ unions in education policy and politics, with critics arguing they wield outsized influence in ways that don’t always align with teachers’ diverse political views. For Kelley and the Freedom Foundation, the modest financial damages sought reflect that their primary goal isn’t monetary compensation but rather forcing transparency about how union dues are allocated. “I think that it’s time for the UEA to tell the teachers in Utah the truth about what they do, what they represent, what they stand for, what they’re advocating for,” Kelley emphasized, suggesting that many teachers might make different choices about membership if they fully understood the political dimensions of their dues.
