Texas State Teachers Association, an affiliate of the far-left National Education Association, urged classroom teachers to “show up” and “speak out” at the rallies held March 28.
The call for teachers to demonstrate was first reported by Texas Scorecard, the right-leaning news outlet.
"I think it is straight-up evil, but it is no surprise,” Mandy Drogin, a senior fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, told AFN.
The messaging, tied to the National Education Association’s Women’s Caucus, promoted the demonstrations as part of a broader political movement opposing what organizers described as “authoritarian power grabs.”
For TSTA members in and around Austin, there were added benefits as the union invited them to gather at its headquarters for a rally pre-party with signs, refreshments, and coordination before heading to a march from City Hall to Auditorium Shores, Texas Scorecard reported.
The teachers’ unions claim they represent school teachers and advocate for employee benefits, Drogin said, but the unions have been exposed as a Marxist movement that wants to influence students by controlling public education and the classrooms.
“The ideological capture of teachers' unions, associations, teacher planning, teacher preparation and colleges of education has occurred over the past 50 years,” she said.
Despite the unions claiming they care about education, Drogin said only about 40 cents reaches the classroom from every dollar spent in Texas. That amount comes after the State of Texas budgeted $100 billion during the 2023-2024 school year.
In its story, Texas Scorecard also reports union membership is voluntary in Texas but many teachers have union dues automatically deducted from their paychecks. Those funds are sent directly to unions through government payroll systems.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has called for ending automatic dues collection, comparing the issue to taxpayer-funded lobbying.
He contends that requiring unions to directly solicit members would significantly reduce participation, citing estimates that a large portion of members would opt out if forced to actively enroll.
