Illinois teachers can opt out of unions in August. Here’s why they should.

Just 15% to 26% of Illinois teachers union spending was on representing teachers in 2024. But public education employees can opt out of union membership and keep their hard-earned money.

Illinois teachers unions have a terrible track record when it comes to spending money on what’s important, but August is when teachers can reclaim their priorities and pay.

The Illinois Education Association and the Illinois Federation of Teachers – the state affiliates representing most teachers in Illinois – spend very little on representing teachers, which should be their core focus. Chicago Teachers Union, a local affiliate of IFT, does just as poorly.

Public education employees upset with the way their unions spend their dues have a choice. They can opt out of union membership and stop sending dues to the union without repercussion. They keep all their employer-provided pay and benefits. And they can obtain liability insurance and job protection coverage at a fraction of the price of union membership.

But time is of the essence. Most teachers unions will only stop deducting dues if teachers opt-out in August.

Illinois teachers unions spend little on teachers

Teachers spend hundreds – and some over a thousand – on union dues each year. But their unions don’t prioritize representing teachers.

The unions’ abysmal spending on teachers is admitted in own their federal filings with the U.S. Department of Labor. It’s a significant indicator that unions take teachers’ money yet don’t put those same teachers’ interests first.

IEA is the largest teachers union in Illinois with 132,565 members, according to its 2024 federal filing. But just 15% of its spending in 2024 was on “representational activities” – what should be its core purpose. The rest was on administration, politics and other union leadership priorities.

Nationally, IEA members are represented by the National Education Association, which fared even worse. Just 9% of its spending was on representing teachers.

But IEA doesn’t represent all teachers in Illinois. Another union – IFT – is the second-largest teachers union in Illinois with 88,815 members, according to its 2024 federal filing. While it spent a larger portion of its money on representing teachers when compared to IEA, it wasn’t much better. Just 26% of IFT’s spending was on “representational activities” in 2024.

Nationally, IFT members are represented by the American Federation of Teachers. Just 36% of AFT’s spending in 2024 was on representing teachers.

Teachers within Chicago Public Schools are represented by IFT, but their local affiliate is the Chicago Teachers Union. Like its state and national affiliates, CTU spends little on representing teachers. In 2024, just 20% of CTU’s spending was on representing teachers.

Why focus on how the unions spend money? Because it shows teachers aren’t the unions’ priority. To put this spending in perspective, the Better Business Bureau states at least 65% of a nonprofit’s total expenses should be used for program activities.

While the BBB’s Wise Giving Alliance evaluates spending by charities, it stands to reason the teachers unions’ abysmal spending on representation should be a cause for concern among members.

What to know more? See how IEA, IFT and CTU spent money – including on politics – in 2024.

Education employees have other options

Illinois educators who want more control over their paychecks have options:

1) Teachers can opt out of union membership and keep all employer-provided benefits. 

By opting out of union membership, a teacher stops paying dues to the union yet retains all benefits that are provided in the collective bargaining agreement with the school district. Employers cannot treat nonmembers differently than union members.

You can get more information and all the paperwork you need by visiting the opt-out website for your union: LeaveIEA.com, LeaveIFT.com or LeaveCTU.com.

2. Teachers can get liability insurance and legal protection elsewhere. 

Educators can join other associations, such as the Association of American Educators. AAE provides robust liability insurance and legal protection to public school employees – typically at a fraction of the cost of union membership.

3. Teachers can still support their local unions.

Opting out doesn’t mean educators don’t support their local bargaining unit. In fact, educators are free to send voluntary donations to their local bargaining units without being members – thereby helping to ensure their support stays local without state or national affiliates taking most of the money.

Know someone who may want to opt out of the union? Make sure they know they should do so in August, as most unions limit to that time frame when teachers can opt out and stop paying dues.