NC teachers association becomes AFT union affiliate

RALEIGH — The American Federation of Teachers added a North Carolina teacher professional association to its ranks this month.

The Professional Educators of North Carolina joined the ranks of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) on Oct. 14 and is now known as AFPENC, according to the group’s website.

“With the strength of the AFT behind us, we are embracing a larger movement that champions fairness, democracy, opportunity and high-quality public education for all,” AFPENC President Joanna Loftis said in a press release. “Together, we will work with every stakeholder who shares our belief that public education is the foundation of a strong and thriving North Carolina. We are proud to establish this AFT affiliate in our state and look forward to building a stronger voice for educators across North Carolina.”

PENC had 2,082 members as of the 2022-23 school year, according to the 2024 annual state audit of state employee association memberships, a decline of nearly 4% over the previous year’s audit report. For 2022-23, there were 92,681 public school teachers in North Carolina, not including the more than 8,700 public charter school teachers.

AFT boasts representation of 1.8 million pre-K through 12th grade teachers and other education professionals.

“These North Carolina teachers have been organizing for years to strengthen public education for their students and to secure the conditions, voice and salaries they needed for themselves, and I am so proud to welcome them to the 1.8 million-strong AFT family,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “Thanks to Joanna’s inspiring leadership and the wisdom of PENC’s executive board, we are uniting because we know that we can achieve far more together than we ever can alone.”

AFT drew criticism during the COVID-19 pandemic when its involvement in keeping schools closed was discovered by a congressional subcommittee. Following that revelation, Weingarten faced backlash after she repeatedly made the false claim that unions had actually tried to reopen schools.

This year, Weingarten’s political involvement with Democrats drew headlines when she resigned in June from the Democratic National Committee. Most recently, she faced criticism for using a reference to a “Nazi occupation” while promoting her new book, “Why Fascists Fear Teachers.”

AFT spent more than $38 million on political activities and lobbying in 2024. The political spending watchdog Open Secrets notes that $12 million was raised by AFT’s PAC for Democratic candidates in the 2024 election cycle.

The largest teacher association in the state, the North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE), also has union ties as an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA).

The NEA has also politically supported Democrats, spending $2.78 million in lobbying in 2024, per Open Secrets data.

Both AFT and the NEA have given over $220 million to left-wing groups and Democrat-linked political causes since 2015, according to a report by Defending Education.

A third teacher association in North Carolina, the American Teachers Alliance (ATA), was formed in 2021 as an alternative to the NCAE. ATA was originally called the Carolina Teachers Alliance but changed names when its membership went national later that same year.

ATA has since expanded its reach to six other states: Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas.

“I was surprised by this development because North Carolina is one of the five states in which the collective bargaining of public employee teacher contracts is illegal,” Amy Marshall, ATA’s executive director, president and founder, told North State Journal.

Affiliation with a union group like AFT or the NEA does not mean it is recognized as a union by the state. North Carolina is a “right to work” state, meaning employees cannot be forced to join a union or pay dues of any size as a prerequisite for a state job.

Democrats in the North Carolina House filed a one-page bill this year that would repeal the state prohibition on unions and collective bargaining in state or municipal government jobs. The bill passed the first reading but has remained untouched since it was sent to the House Rules Committee in March.