Randi Weingarten allegedly relied on extensive union-funded support while producing her controversial political book, with consultants, attorneys, and other contributors tied to the project receiving more than $1.4 million from the union, according to a new report released by the Freedom Foundation, the NY Post reports.

The report alleges that Weingarten used significant resources connected to the American Federation of Teachers while writing Why Fascists Fear Teachers: Public Education and the Future of Democracy, a book critics accused of promoting a liberal political agenda. According to the analysis, Weingarten also personally retained part of the book’s proceeds.

Among those involved in the project, the report said, was an attorney who allegedly reviewed the manuscript on a pro bono basis even though his law firm received nearly $977,000 from the union for separate legal work. The report also identified a consultant described as a possible ghostwriter who allegedly received more than $400,000 overall from the union.

According to the analysis, the union additionally spent more than $11,000 on individuals who reportedly assisted with fact-checking the book and photographing Weingarten for promotional materials connected to the publication, which the publisher promoted as “a manifesto for our time.”

Maxford Nelsen, the organization’s director of research and government affairs, argued that union members did not sign up to finance such projects through their dues payments.

“Most AFT members pay dues in exchange for workplace representation, not to fund the union president’s literary pursuits,” said Maxford Nelsen, the Freedom Foundation’s director of research and government affairs.

“However, AFT appears to have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in members’ dues on top-tier consultants, lawyers, and agents to get WFFT published,” Nelson went on. “Indeed, the wide range of expenses borne by AFT suggests that Weingarten may not have contributed anything at all financially to the enterprise.”

Weingarten currently earns $469,442 annually from the AFT, which represents approximately 1.8 million members through thousands of local affiliates nationwide. She has publicly acknowledged that royalties from the book are shared with the union and affiliated nonprofit organizations.

The book itself generated controversy after critics claimed Weingarten implied President Donald Trump displayed fascist tendencies. The book also referenced historical dictators including Adolf Hitler.

“Those hell-bent on unraveling democracy, pluralism, and opportunity have always attacked teachers and education,” Weingarten wrote in her book. “It’s a very old playbook. In the 1930s, Hitler and Mussolini persecuted teachers and tried to control the curriculum.”

Weingarten denied accusations that she directly labeled Trump or members of his administration as fascists, insisting she was discussing broader authoritarian behavior rather than making personal comparisons.

The Freedom Foundation based its findings on an LM-2 financial disclosure filed by the union with the federal government covering the period between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025.

The report highlighted Weingarten’s acknowledgment section, where she described writer Sally Kohn as “indispensable as a day-to-day thought partner and collaborator.” According to union financial records cited in the report, Kohn received $400,270 in consulting payments from the AFT during the relevant period, a figure reportedly far higher than in prior years.

The Freedom Foundation argued those payments may have been tied to ghostwriting or substantial writing assistance for the book, services Kohn advertises professionally. Representatives for Weingarten disputed that characterization, saying Kohn worked on multiple union-related initiatives, including the union’s Reconnecting McDowell newsletter.

The report also noted that Weingarten thanked fact-checker Emily Krieger in the book’s acknowledgments. According to financial disclosures, the AFT paid $6,000 to Emily Krieger Editorial LLC, based in Bozeman, Montana. Krieger’s website reportedly states that she “fact-checked” the book.

In addition, the photograph of Weingarten used inside the book jacket and in promotional materials published by Penguin Random House was credited to photographer Tony Powell. Financial disclosures showed the AFT paid Powell $5,212 under administrative expenses.

Weingarten also thanked attorney Charles Moerdler of Patterson Belknap Webb and Tyler LLP for reviewing the manuscript from a legal standpoint.

At the same time, the union disclosed payments totaling $977,275 to Moerdler’s law firm for legal work and union-related services. The Freedom Foundation suggested some of those payments may have indirectly supported work connected to the book, although Weingarten maintained that Moerdler reviewed the manuscript without compensation.

Representatives for the attorney said his firm separately worked on litigation involving New Hampshire’s “divisive concepts” law and on projects tied to the union’s artificial intelligence education initiatives.

The AFT additionally disclosed $64,090 in publication-related payments to InkWell Management, which represents Weingarten as a client and is connected to Penguin Random House.

Although not individually detailed in financial records, the book’s acknowledgments also credited nearly 30 AFT staff members for contributing to the project.

“Also undisclosed, but potentially substantial, is the amount AFT likely paid in travel expenses and other costs associated with Weingarten’s nationwide tour to promote her book,” Nelson said.

The report also questioned how royalties and proceeds from the book are ultimately being distributed.

Weingarten has publicly stated that portions of the proceeds would benefit the AFT, the AFT Disaster Relief Fund, and the AFT Educational Foundation.

However, the analysis also identified two royalty payments totaling $125,000 made to an entity controlled by Weingarten called Teachers Want What Kids Need, LLC, which the report noted is a Delaware-based corporation rather than a tax-exempt charitable organization.

“It has no website or discernible public-facing presence of any kind,” the Freedom Foundation said in its report.

Weingarten sharply rejected the report’s conclusions, calling the investigation politically motivated and accusing the Freedom Foundation of trying to validate the arguments she made in the book itself.

“This desperate fishing expedition by a far right group that refuses to disclose its donors only proves my book’s point — that Fascists Fear Teachers,” Weingarten told The Post.

“Educators need people making the public case for them, for critical thinking and for public schools. I am glad to have been in full partnership with the union on this project — and any and all proceeds from the book are shared equally.”

The Freedom Foundation describes itself as a conservative organization focused on challenging what it calls the influence of left-wing public-sector union leadership and expanding government power.

Before becoming national president of the AFT, Weingarten previously led the union’s New York affiliate, the United Federation of Teachers.

{Matzav.com}