2,824 Public Employees Helped Opt Out

18,000 Members

$323,875 Saved in Annual Union Dues

Public Sector Worker Investigation Series · Pennsylvania Union Dues Snapshot

Philadelphia Federation of Teachers · Philadelphia

Where Are Your Union Dues Going?

AFFT’s review of Philadelphia Federation of Teachers filings found the union sent 42.9% of its budget to affiliate unions — and more than 61% flowed to affiliate payments, officer compensation, and employee benefits rather than direct member services. Here is where it went.

AFFT Analysis · PFT Local 3
42.9%

Of the budget sent to affiliate unions.

61%+

Of the budget flowing to affiliate payments, officer compensation, and employee benefits rather than direct member services.

Source: Americans for Fair Treatment, Where Do Your Dues Go? — Pennsylvania (July 2026), from public financial filings and campaign finance records.

2,824

Public employees helped opt out

18,000

Members nationwide

$323,875

Saved in annual union dues

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What’s Inside

Every dollar, with the receipts.

  • Year-by-year political spending, including every PAC and committee that received PFT Local 3 money.
  • Officer and staff compensation pulled directly from the union’s Schedule 11 and 12 disclosures.
  • Per-capita payments to the AFT — the share of your dues that leaves Philadelphia entirely.
  • Full balance sheet, including liabilities most members have never seen.
  • Every footnoted source, so you can verify each figure independently.

Delivered as a PDF the moment you submit the form.

Follow the Money Upstream

Your dues don’t stop in Philadelphia.

PFT Local 3 is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers. A share of every member’s dues is forwarded up to the national union — money that leaves Philadelphia entirely and is spent on priorities set in Washington. Here is what AFFT found in the AFT’s own filings:

$72M

Spent on union employees.

$600K

Approximate presidential compensation.

PAC

Overwhelmingly partisan federal PAC giving, against declining net assets.

Americans for Fair Treatment, July 2026. Figures from AFT’s own reports.

The full report is one click away.

If any of this tracks with what you’re seeing inside PFT Local 3, get the complete breakdown and a personal follow-up from AFFT.

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Your Right to Leave

You don’t have to fund what you don’t support.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Janus v. AFSCME guaranteed every Pennsylvania public employee the right to resign from their union and stop paying dues — without losing their job, their contract protections, or any employment right.

Resignation windows and paperwork vary. AFFT walks Philadelphia educators through it confidentially, at no cost, whether or not you ever become a member.

Call (833) 969-3247 · Text (412) 282-3214