Unions representing about 1.8 million teachers and other education workers received taxpayer funding to book trips to prestigious casinos and pay for meals at high-end restaurants. Membership fees were used.

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) spent more than $370,000 on Caesars Palace. Luxury hotels and casinos Disclosure filings in Las Vegas, Nevada show. Additionally, AFT used the dues it collected from its members to pay for trips to Europe and South America and five-figure tabs at high-end restaurants.

“My suspicion is that this is a case of ‘class privilege,'” Michael Watson, director of research at the Capital Research Center and an expert on organized labor, told the Daily Caller. told the News Foundation. “If you’re one of the union officials or delegates who has shown loyalty to the union and contributed to the interests of the union, they’ll kick you out. You can go to big conventions and when people give speeches, Tell us how much you support Randi Weingarten so we can earn these rewards. Of course, this money comes from working teachers’ dues checks. Masu.” (Related: Union leaders who threatened to shut down the economy have a history of splurging on high-end restaurants and resorts)

AFT President Randi Weingarten took home a salary of about $500,000 from July 2023 to June 2024, according to the union’s latest disclosures. Substantially all of AFT’s income during this period was Equal split Fees collected from local affiliates. These fees, paid by local unions, are covered by dues from public school teachers and other education workers.

Most of AFT’s spending at Caesars Palace was marked as conference expenses, with thousands more recorded as “non-statement transactions,” according to disclosure documents. Caesars Palace say Rooms available to groups holding conferences on the property range from “luxury suites” to “luxury villas” that “make every guest feel like an emperor.”

Caesars Palace isocean’s eleven,””Rocky III,” and “the hangover”

Hotel say The company’s website says its name has become “synonymous with Las Vegas.” The hotel features a casino boasting 185 table games, 1,324 slot machines, and sports betting. According to Go to that website. addition Amenities Guests have access to a poolside bar, on-site spa services, a hair salon, limousine service, a nightclub, in-room massage services, and a sauna.

In addition to the trip to Las Vegas, AFT also paid for hotel stays in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Geneva, Switzerland, according to the disclosure. AFT also used more than $20,000 in union funds to cover expensive restaurant bills between July 2023 and June 2024.

At Carmine’s, an upscale Italian restaurant in Washington, D.C., where the union spent about $16,000, simple dishes like a plain Caesar salad or pasta with garlic and oil cost about $30. According to On that menu. The restaurant also offers 45-ounce porterhouse steaks, which can be ordered in four different styles.

AFT spent an additional $5,548 at The Palm Restaurant, a famous steakhouse in Chicago, according to the dossier. The cheapest cut of beef offered at The Palm is an 8-ounce filet mignon for $57, while the most expensive cut of beef is a 36-ounce porterhouse steak for $149. According to On that menu.

During the same period, AFT spent large sums of money on lavish meals and lodging, but only about one-third of the expenditure was devoted to “expressive activities.” operation Matters related to collective bargaining and member recruitment. The remainder of the union’s spending went to items such as overhead, administrative costs, lobbying, and political activities.

According to disclosures, AFT spent $38,104,649 on lobbying and political activities from July 2023 to June 2024. The union, for example, contributed about $2.4 million. action fund for our futureis a pro-Democratic super PAC focused on climate change from November 2023 to April 2024. Additionally, campaign finance records show AFT’s PAC reportedly funneled millions to federal and non-federal Democratic committees during the 2023-2024 election cycle.

as a result of Janus vs. AFSCMEa 2018 Supreme Court case states that public school employees can no longer be forced to pay union dues, which could ultimately be used for expenses such as luxury trips for union leaders and donations to center-left political committees. It will be done.

“At least in theory, Janus eliminates the issue of dues enforcement,” labor expert Watson told DCNF. “Public school teachers no longer have to pay fees to their union to keep their jobs.”

AFT did not respond to DCNF’s request for comment.

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