PRESS RELEASE: New DFI Report Finds Teacher Union–Affiliated Graduate Student Unions Promote Radical Activism, Antisemitism

WASHINGTON—A new report from the Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies (DFI) finds that graduate student unions affiliated with the nation’s largest teacher unions are increasingly promoting radical political activism and antisemitism rather than focusing on traditional labor concerns such as wages, benefits, and working conditions.

The report, “The Radicalism of Graduate Student Unions Affiliated with the Teacher Unions,” authored by DFI Senior Fellow Jay P. Greene, examines the public communications and political activity of graduate student labor organizations affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA).

The analysis finds that graduate student unions affiliated with teacher unions devote disproportionate attention to attacking Israel while largely ignoring other international conflicts.

Key findings include:

• 76 percent of graduate student unions affiliated with teacher unions that maintain an active online presence have issued public statements criticizing Israel or supporting Palestinians.
   
• Only 10 percent have issued statements regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
   
• Many unions regularly use inflammatory rhetoric about Israel, including accusations of “genocide,” “apartheid,” and “settler colonialism.”
   
• Several organizations examined in the report frequently employ Marxist language, imagery, and ideological themes while promoting international political activism.

The report argues that the overwhelming focus on condemning Israel, paired with relative silence on other global conflicts, exposes antisemitic double standards within these organizations.

Greene notes that this represents a dramatic shift from AFT’s longtime president Albert Shanker, who was widely known for opposing communist influence in organized labor and for defending Jewish teachers against antisemitism.

“Teacher unions once prided themselves on standing against antisemitism and resisting the influence of radical ideological movements,” said Greene. “The behavior of many of their graduate student affiliates today suggests that those guardrails have disappeared.”

The report also outlines several policy options for policymakers concerned about the growing radicalization of graduate student unions, including:

• Restoring safeguards against radical influence in organized labor by requiring union leaders to certify they are not affiliated with foreign or extremist political movements.
   
• Reexamining the legal status of graduate student unions, given that a large portion of their membership consists of non-citizens working in the United States on temporary student visas.
   
• Protecting federal taxpayer funds by restricting federal student aid and research funding to universities that recognize graduate student unions led by members of extremist international movements.
   
• Increasing transparency by requiring federally funded universities to disclose whether they recognize graduate student unions, how those unions are funded, and how many members are foreign nationals on student visas.

“Graduate student unions are playing an increasingly influential role in shaping the political culture of universities and the broader labor movement,” Greene said. “When organizations affiliated with teacher unions repeatedly promote narratives that single out the Jewish state for condemnation while embracing radical ideological movements, it raises serious concerns about antisemitism and the direction of organized labor in higher education.”

DFI President Bob Eitel added that the report highlights the need for policymakers to examine how graduate student unions operate within federally funded universities.

“Universities receive billions in federal taxpayer funding each year,” said Bob Eitel, President of the Defense of Freedom Institute. “The public deserves transparency and accountability when organizations operating on those campuses engage in conduct or activity that violates civil rights laws and fuels antisemitism.”

To view the full report, click here.