The American Federation of Teachers – How Membership Dues are Spent (2023)

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is the second largest teacher’s union (although membership is not limited to teachers) with 1.8 million members (after the National Education Association) in 3,000 local affiliates in the USA. A non-profit, tax-exempt 501 (c) (5), AFT is based in Washington, DC and is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.

The most recent Form 990 (2022 for the year ending June 30, 2023) reports the following information about the AFT:

Total revenue was $211 million (compared to $206 million in 2022) with most revenue coming from membership dues ($203 million) that start at about $70 annually for an associate membership  at the national level. However, there are various types of membership with most members joining a local, regional, or statewide affiliate of the AFT (membership requests are typically handled at the affiliate level).

Expenses were $220 million (including $2 million in depreciation) – 104% of revenue – categorized as follows:

• $64 million (30% of revenue):  Compensation
• $52 million (25% of revenue):  Assistance and Support to Affiliates and Locals
• $45 million (21% of revenue):  Contributions
• $22 million (10% of revenue):  Fees for Services (primarily other services and accounting)
• $14 million (7% of revenue):  Office-Related Expenses
• $14  million (7% of revenue):  Travel and Conferences*
• $ 5 million (2% of revenue):  Other Expenses
• $ 4 million (2% of revenue):  Advertising and Promotion

* Includes first class travel. AFT paid for first class travel for officers and vice presidents when the scheduled flight time is two hours or longer.  Note:  AFT also paid for companion travel and pays AFT officers a monthly housing allowance.

As illustrated above, compensation is AFT’s largest expense. 354 employees received $64 million in compensation which equates to an average compensation of $181,000.  However, only 205 employees (58% of employees) received more than $100,000 in compensation.  The most highly compensated employee was the President, Randy Weingarten who received $560,012.

Using the above information, every $100 in revenue was spent as follows:

$100:  Revenue

-$ 30:  Compensation

-$ 10:  Fees for Services

-$  7:  Office-Related Expenses

-$  7:  Travel and Conferences

-$  2:  Other Expenses

-$  2:  Advertising and Promotion

-$ 58:  Subtotal: Compensation, Office, T&C, and Other Expenses

 $ 42:  Revenue Remaining

-$ 25:  Assistance and Support to Affiliates and Locals

-$ 21:  Contributions

-$ 46:  Subtotal Assistance, Support, and Contributions

-$  4:  Excess Expenses over Revenue

As illustrated above, AFT spent $58 out of every $100 in revenue on staff and organization expenses and $46 out of every $100 on expenses that are primarily focused outside the organization (i.e. assistance and support to affiliates and locals, and contributions.).

Because AFT spent more ($220 million) as they collected ($211 million), and because the organization reported $3 million in unrealized losses on investments, net assets decreased from $68 million at the beginning of the year to $56 million at year-end.

The bottom line is that nearly 60% of membership dues support the organization (i.e. compensation, office, etc), and 45% is used for “outside” services (i.e. payments to affiliates, contributions, and assistance, etc).

To read the IRS Form 990 (2022 for the year ending June 30, 2023), click here.