Report: Weingarten Used $1.4M in Union Resources to Write Book

American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten used hundreds of thousands of dollars in union resources to help her write a book suggesting President Donald Trump is a fascist, and her team made more than $1.4 million from the labor group, a new report found.

The Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank whose mission is to challenge “entrenched power of left-wing government union bosses who represent a permanent lobby for bigger government, higher taxes, and radical social agendas,” released a report claiming Weingarten used union resources for her book Why Fascists Fear Teachers: Public Education and the Future of Democracy, and then kept part of the proceeds.

The report, first obtained by the New York Post, alleges that Weingarten’s team included an attorney who earned $977,000 for various work with the union, despite supposedly working on the book pro bono. The report also alleges that a “ghost writer” earned $400,000 from the union, and two people who “fact-checked” the book earned $11,000 each.

“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 continued. “Indeed, the wide range of expenses borne by AFT suggests that Weingarten may not have contributed anything at all financially to the enterprise.”

The book was pitched by the publisher as “a manifesto for our time,” and made headlines for appearing to suggest President Donald Trump is a fascist, according to the report. Weingarten specifically made a Hitler comparison in the book.

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

Weingarten, who is paid $469,442 by the AFT, has denied claims that she called the president a fascist and said she was instead describing fascistic behavior, per the report.

The Freedom Foundation drew its findings from the AFT’s financial report, which is an LM-2 filed to the federal government that documents July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025. The union has 1.8 million members spanning 3,000 affiliates.

Weingarten has admitted to sharing royalties with the union and its nonprofit affiliates, according to the report. When reached for comment, she told the outlet the report is a “fishing expedition” by a right-wing group but said the proceeds of the book are “shared equally” between her and the union.

“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 said.

“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,” she added.