23 Sep 2025

Priscilla Rahn: The Union vs. Students: Why I Walked Away

“After 32 years in education and decades inside the union, I realized the hard truth: it was politicians—not students—who were benefitting from my dues.”

In a commentary published at The Rocky Mountain Voice, Project 21‘s Priscilla Rahn shares her journey of experiencing growing disillusionment with teachers’ unions — and why she finally walked away altogether.

Read Priscilla’s story below.

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For 32 years I poured my life into teaching, believing the teachers’ union stood for students and educators like me. But somewhere along the way, the mission shifted—from strengthening classrooms to fueling politics. That’s when I knew I had to walk away.

I look back on a career that began in Texas in the early 1990s, where my starting salary was a meager $18,000 a year—barely enough to cover student loans, a car payment, gas, rent, food, and utilities after dividing it into 24 paychecks, leaving me with about $700 every two weeks. I was immediately pressured to join the teachers’ union, but with no extra money for dues, I declined.

It wasn’t until I moved to Colorado that I joined, convinced I needed liability coverage to protect my job if anything went wrong. I was essentially scared into it, fearing lawsuits or administrative backlash without that safety net.

Teachers’ unions have shaped American education long before my career began. The National Education Association (NEA), founded in 1857, began as a professional association focused on raising teaching standards, improving curriculum, and advocating for public schools—decades before the federal government even had an education office. The short-lived Department of Education was created in 1867, quickly downgraded the following year, and it wasn’t until 1979 that the modern Department of Education existed.

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) emerged in 1916 from the labor movement to fight for fair wages, pensions, and protections for teachers. In those early days, unions emphasized professionalization at a time when teaching was low-paid, heavily feminized, and undervalued. Yet through advocacy for tenure, the school day, class size limits, and better funding, they helped build a more professional and effective teaching workforce. By the 1960s, collective bargaining expanded, delivering higher pay, stronger benefits, and improved working conditions, attracting and retaining talented educators. These early efforts laid the foundation for the public schools we have today.

At first, joining the union felt like stepping into a supportive community. As a member of my professional organization, I received newsletters, offers of discounts for travel and on car insurance, and the right to vote on my contract. It didn’t take long for me to get involved—I served as my building representative, attended monthly board meetings, and rose through the ranks as the elected treasurer, then appointed secretary. I was appointed to the local and state Political Action Committees (PACs), and attended NEA summer conferences and trainings. I made lifelong friends, and even went on strike in 2019 for better pay alongside teachers I believed shared my core educational values.

But things started to shift. I was told I’m a trusted adult and students were “my children.” It seemed harmless at the time; even endearing. I was the education expert; not parents. Younger teachers, dissatisfied and impatient with the union leadership, began pushing the union towards becoming “social justice warriors.” The agenda moved away from teaching practices, duty-free lunches, and professional development to protesting the government and diverting dues to causes supporting migrant kids at the Texas border or California.

I tried to refocus my colleagues on what mattered most: ensuring a qualified, master teacher in every classroom, and creating effective lessons. I grew uncomfortable with the PAC funneling so much money exclusively to hard left-leaning candidates for the legislature and school board. The NEA, for instance, has poured millions into Democratic candidates and progressive groups, with over 90% of its political contributions going to left-wing causes.

When COVID hit and the riots began, my disillusionment deepened. The union’s calls to march to the State Capitol in support of Black Lives Matter felt out of place, especially as unions like the NEA and California Teachers Association openly embraced BLM initiatives in schools. The goal for when students and teachers could go back to in-person learning kept changing. The union played a significant role in slowing the reopening of schools, resulting in significant learning loss.

Then came the replacement of the Pledge of Allegiance at meetings with a Native “Land Acknowledgement.” The union started advocating for biased training that condemned “whiteness” and “privilege” while advocating for “Grading for Equity.” Recently, my Jewish colleagues have felt fear and alienation after both the NEA and AFT voted on resolutions viewed as aligning with pro-Palestinian activism.

Meanwhile, $70 a month in dues became a heavy burden as inflation soared. I was struggling to put gas in my car each week, and with my father in home hospice, I wanted to send money home to help my mom with expenses. Yet, the union was distracted by discussions of  legislation on unlimited occupancy in Denver homes and apartments, providing aid to migrants, and advising on how to shield undocumented families from government scrutiny.

All the while, I kept wondering: How do we have the time and resources for these social justice issues when our students aren’t at grade level? Recent data from the Nation’s Report Card underscores this crisis—only about 31% of fourth-graders and 30% of eighth-graders are proficient in reading, with similar lows in math, showing declines exacerbated by pandemic disruptions.

I’m not alone in this frustration. Teachers across social media have shared similar reasons for leaving; mainly unions prioritizing politics over educators. Today,  BLM and “Black Excellence” are a fad of the past, replaced by an almost exclusive, hyper focus on the LGBTQ+ agenda. The government workforce census highlights retention issues, with more teachers leaving for non-retirement reasons than ever, amid shortages that jeopardize education quality.

Leaving the union in 2023, after decades of involvement wasn’t easy. I’m still friends with union teachers, but I lost that “family” network. Recently, however, I found a new family of teachers through the Teacher Freedom Alliance (TFA). TFA offers free professional development and free liability insurance for full-time teachers. Reclaiming my dues meant financial relief and aligning my resources with my true priorities: students and families.

Teachers’ unions were once champions of the profession. Today, they’re political machines, funneling millions to leftist candidates. After 32 years in education and decades inside the union, I realized the hard truth: it was politicians—not students—who were benefitting from my dues. But this isn’t just my story—walking away is a choice every teacher now faces. If we want to restore American education, our focus must return to the classroom and the children we serve.

 

Project 21 Ambassador Priscilla Rahn, M.Ed, NBCT, is a veteran educator with more than three decades of experience as a teacher, principal, evaluator, and mentor. She is the author of Restoring Education in America: An Inspirational Teacher Toolbox and leads professional development programs to help teachers refocus on classroom excellence and student success. This was first published at The Rocky Mountain Voice.