Last year, the conservative Freedom Foundation made headlines with a high-profile effort to convince Miami-Dade teachers to dump their union. 

Ultimately, it flopped: 83% of members voted to stick with United Teachers of Dade. Still, Brent Urbanik, president of the rival Miami Dade Education Coalition, said he appreciated the Foundation鈥檚 鈥渁ll-hands-on-deck鈥� support, which included funding mailers to teachers鈥� homes and to knock on doors. Urbanik said he couldn鈥檛 have run the campaign without the Foundation鈥檚 help. 

But he鈥檚 not a fan of the group鈥檚 latest move. In late September, it named anti-union firebrand Ryan Walters, 翱办濒补丑辞尘补鈥檚 former state chief, as head of its new Teacher Freedom Alliance.  

鈥淢ost teachers just want to go to school. They want to teach their subjects, and they want to know that they’re not going to get fired for saying the wrong thing,鈥� he said. With Walters at the helm, he said, the Teacher Freedom Alliance risks becoming 鈥渢he right鈥檚 version of the left鈥檚 problem, which is the politicization of classroom material.鈥� 

To Aaron Withe, the Foundation鈥檚 CEO, Walters is a 鈥渇reedom fighter鈥� who brings passion and new energy to a cause that has seen mixed results since the Supreme Court鈥檚 2018 decision in . The court ruled that teachers and other public sector employees can opt out of paying fees to unions they don鈥檛 want to join. But Walters is escalating the attack. Since resigning from his state job, he鈥檚 criticized for striking over their recent loss of collective bargaining and joined members in Florida, where he said unions have turned schools into 鈥淢arxist indoctrination centers.鈥� 

One frequent target of his rhetoric doesn鈥檛 see the new Alliance as a threat. In a statement, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, called the Foundation鈥檚 post-Janus efforts a 鈥渄ismal failure.鈥�  

Urbanik, who teaches AP Psychology at a magnet school in Miami-Dade, is among those educators who think the AFT and the National Education Association have strayed too far from core bargaining issues like salaries, benefits and working conditions. That鈥檚 what Mark Janus, a former child support specialist in Illinois, argued when he challenged AFSCME on First Amendment grounds, that he shouldn鈥檛 be forced to financially support a union鈥檚 political activities or preferred candidates.

鈥淭here was an inherent unfairness in requiring people to join a union and spend money on political activities they disagree with in order to hold a government job,鈥� said Dean McGee, senior counsel and director of educational freedom at the Liberty Justice Center, the conservative law firm that represented Janus. 

Since Janus, some teachers say that unions continue to make it hard to opt out by automatically renewing membership without warning or creating short 鈥渆scape鈥� windows for canceling membership. But in 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear those concerns.

鈥楶ower comes from money鈥�

Teachers鈥� conflicts with their unions aren鈥檛 always political. Members of the Miami-Dade Education Coalition say United Teachers of Dade didn鈥檛 fight for raises and merit pay tied to a 2011 state law after the district said it was an unfunded mandate and they couldn鈥檛 afford the bonuses. 

And in Chicago, Liberty Justice Center represents members of the Chicago Teachers Union who are union leaders for a required annual audit for the past four years. 

The Teacher Freedom Alliance, McGee said, takes the Janus ruling a step further. 鈥淭he power comes from money, and the money comes from member dues,鈥� he said. If unions are losing members, he suggested they focus on 鈥渕embers鈥� interests and not broader political fights.鈥�

He didn鈥檛 mention specific priorities, but the NEA this year that aim to counteract President Donald Trump鈥檚 鈥渆mbrace of fascism鈥� and to support 鈥淣o Kings鈥� protests. 

Opt-out campaigns have generally seen mixed results, experts say. When they鈥檙e combined with legislation to undermine the unions, as when Wisconsin stripped public sector unions of collective bargaining in 2011, membership drops, said Eunice Han, an associate economics professor at the University of Utah who studies unions. 

In 2023, Florida passed a law that requires unions to maintain a 60% dues-paying membership. In January 2024, United Teachers of Dade . Urbanik鈥檚 group saw an opening. 

A year after the law passed, over 50 public sector unions in the state had been wiped out because they couldn鈥檛 reach the 60% threshold, according to . But only three of those were K-12 unions, all of which represented non-instructional staff. 

of the Florida Education Association 鈥渉ave successfully re-certified,鈥� Han said. The Freedom Foundation has seen small victories in other states where it鈥檚 been active, like Oregon, California and Washington. 

Larry Delaney, president of the Washington Education Association, said the Foundation frequently sends mailers with messages encouraging teachers and other school staff to opt out. The cards include a section the member can rip off and mail back to the union鈥檚 address. Their campaigns get creative, he said. Around Halloween, one mailer portrayed Delaney as a monster. Another said 鈥淕ive yourself a Christmas bonus! End your monthly union dues.鈥�

But only a handful of members opt out each year, Delaney said.

Some mailers look like a and include a fake check representing how much money members would save in dues each year if they quit the union. Based on his own experience, it costs about $40,000 to send mail to all 84,000 members of the union statewide, and the Freedom Foundation sends a new mailer almost monthly.

鈥淚 don’t know what their direct mailing budget is, but it’s large,鈥� he said. The Foundation didn鈥檛 comment on its mailing budget.

The Foundation, a $17 million operation, according to its most , is a nonprofit and doesn鈥檛 have to disclose donors. In Florida, the free market-oriented , founded by successful futures trader Bill Dunn, donated $100,000 to support the Miami Dade Education Coalition鈥檚 opt-out campaign, according to .

by the Center for Media and Democracy, a progressive organization that tracks spending by conservative groups, show the Koch Brothers, the Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation and the Sarah Scaife Foundation in Pittsburgh, are also among the Foundation鈥檚 contributors. Those organizations often fund right-leaning causes, like efforts to roll back and PragerU, a media operation that produces conservative videos for kids.

鈥榃e won鈥檛 be intimidated鈥�

The Foundation used some of its resources to fight that says union members can sue if someone is trying to impersonate them as an opt-out strategy. 

鈥淭hey say that we’re pretending to be union officials and going to union members鈥� homes to convince them to leave,鈥� Withe, the Foundation鈥檚 CEO, said in an . 鈥淲e won’t be intimidated. If anything, we鈥檙e more emboldened to go and get more of their members.鈥�

The Foundation wasn鈥檛 able to keep the bill from passing. It allows union representatives to bring a civil lawsuit against a group or individual that tries to deceive a union member into opting out. Withe said the unions provided no evidence that the Foundation employed deception. 

But his group did manage to get teachers in the small 126-student along the south coast of Oregon, to create a new independent union in June. When all 13 of their teachers voted unanimously to create the new Cruiser Educators Association, the Oregon Education Association didn鈥檛 oppose the move. 

Gabe Shorb, a sixth grade teacher in the district, first heard Walters speak at one of the Foundation鈥檚 Teacher Freedom Summits and called his message 鈥渞efreshing.鈥�

He said several teachers had already opted out on their own and a few had joined the Teacher Freedom Alliance. Those remaining felt the Oregon Education Association wasn鈥檛 very helpful when they bargained with the district and asked for contract information from comparable districts. Membership in the new union is free.

鈥淚’m hoping that we’ll make connections and show other small districts that, 鈥楬ey you don’t have to pay a lot of money for something that’s really not that useful,鈥� 鈥� he said.

The Freedom Foundation also pushed this year for that would prevent teachers from using paid professional development days to attend the Montana Federation of Public Employees鈥� annual meeting. The sessions, the Foundation argues, are 鈥渙riented toward political activism, radical woke ideology and union marketing.鈥� to panels on topics such as equity training and promoting LGBTQ issues. But the bill died in the session.

The Teacher Freedom Alliance aims to give school staff an alternative to the AFT and the NEA. Its free membership includes liability coverage up to $2 million, which protects teachers if they鈥檙e sued or need legal representation for other reasons. The American Association of Educators, with about 32,000 members, charges $19.50 per month for that includes liability coverage as well as other benefits, like shopping discounts.

Walters first promoted the new Alliance in March with a , drawing an ethics complaint from Rep. Ellen Pogemiller, a Democrat, who argued that he was using state resources to endorse an organization. The complaint was dismissed, and the state attorney general said he didn鈥檛 break the law.聽Walters did not respond to attempts to reach him by phone or text.

When he accepted the new job, Pogemiller filed , suggesting his promotion of the group was for personal gain. The state ethics commission hasn鈥檛 issued any findings. 

Walters might have taken the job because he thought it would 鈥済ive him a larger national profile,鈥� said Julia Koppich, an independent consultant in San Francisco and expert on teachers unions.

He might also have been seeking a higher salary. His paid $124,000. The Foundation did not disclose his salary at Teacher Freedom Alliance, but past show Withe made $525,000 in 2023, and other top executives earned in the $200,000 range. 

Koppich wonders how the new Alliance will benefit teachers. In states where unions have bargaining rights, teachers who drop their membership can鈥檛 negotiate their own salaries and working conditions with school districts, Koppich said. They鈥檙e bound by the union contract whether they pay dues or not. 

In non-union states, teacher pay is set by a statewide salary schedule.

鈥淯nionism is baked in where it鈥檚 baked in and anathema where it鈥檚 always been anathema,鈥� Koppich said. 鈥淭hese [opt-out] organizations don鈥檛 have a great track record.鈥� 

In Miami, Urbanik blames part of his group鈥檚 poor showing in the election on the Miami- Dade district. He said officials 鈥渉eavily suppressed鈥� his organization鈥檚 message. Some teachers didn鈥檛 even know the vote was taking place. About two-thirds of the Miami-Dade teachers didn’t vote.

鈥淲e were not allowed to have contact with teachers on school grounds,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was not allowed to have a mailer placed in mailboxes.鈥�

Under Walters, opt-out drives are likely to go national and his rhetoric about unions funding agendas unrelated to the classroom are expected to intensify, said Han, with the University of Utah. 

鈥淚 believe that with Walters鈥檚 leadership,鈥� Han said, 鈥渨e may see a more politically charged and aggressive version of the Freedom Foundation鈥檚 strategy.鈥�

He once called 翱办濒补丑辞尘补鈥檚 teachers union a “terrorist organization.鈥� Now state Superintendent Ryan Walters is threatening to 鈥渄estroy鈥� teachers unions nationwide.

A former small-town history teacher who waged a culture war against educators over issues such as sexually explicit books and criticism of President Donald Trump, Walters announced his resignation to become CEO of the , an anti-union initiative of the , a conservative think tank. 

鈥淲e will build an army of teachers to defeat the teachers unions once and for all,鈥� he told Fox News. 鈥淭his fight is going national and we will get our schools back.鈥�

Walters was expected to run in the Republican primary for . But he had increasingly alienated 鈥減retty much everyone鈥� in state leadership, said Deven Carlson, a political science professor at the University of Oklahoma. 鈥淚 do think there was still some grassroots support in pockets of the state, but it wasn鈥檛 clear how that was going to translate to the things you might need to win, say, the 2026 governor’s election.鈥�

First as education secretary to Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt and then as the state鈥檚 elected schools chief for nearly three years, Walters established a reputation for a headline-grabbing and at times even outlandish brand of Christian nationalism. Even before his election in 2022, Walters singled out teachers he considered too 鈥渨oke鈥� for Oklahoma schools. Once in office, he moved quickly to revoke the teaching certificates of educators accused of violating laws against so-called 鈥渄ivisive concepts.鈥�

With little initial opposition from the state鈥檚 GOP majority, he made news almost daily for controversial actions such as threatening to take over the Tulsa schools and mandating Trump-endorsed classroom Bibles. As recently as this week, he announced that every high school in Oklahoma would have a , the youth-focused conservative organization Charlie Kirk founded in 2012. Most of the Wednesday’s Fox news show Walters joined focused on the growth of the organization since Kirk was killed Sept. 10 in Utah.

鈥淲e鈥檝e never seen a national movement like this of so many kids, so many parents so willing to step up and say, ‘Listen, we have got to get the country back on track.鈥� 鈥� he said. 鈥淲e’ve got to turn away from this radical leftism.鈥� 

As Walters kept a of appearances on right-wing media, at home, Republican lawmakers began criticizing the state chief for , like delaying funds to schools for security upgrades. Former state officials said he failed to communicate about . He promoted stronger literacy instruction, recently launching , but his divisive manner overshadowed his efforts to focus on learning. 

One Republican who repeatedly questioned Walters鈥� competence for the job and supported investigations into whether he should be impeached said the superintendent鈥檚 departure is a 鈥渧ery positive move for Oklahoma.鈥�

Former state Rep. Mark McBride said he hopes the person Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt appoints as an interim replacement has 鈥渘o agenda other than working with students and teachers to improve outcomes.鈥� McBride, who led an education subcommittee in the House, said he would also 鈥渓ove to serve Oklahoma in this capacity,鈥� but had not yet spoken with the governor about the possibility.

Walters was an early advocate of the Freedom Foundation鈥檚 efforts to weaken the teachers unions. He appeared at the group鈥檚 and Teacher Freedom Summits. 

鈥淭hey’re about power and they’re about money,鈥� he said of the unions at last year鈥檚 event. 鈥淭hey could care less about student test scores.鈥�

When the foundation launched the new Alliance earlier this year, Walters issued a endorsing the initiative, which prompted a state lawmaker to ask Oklahoma’s attorney general to investigate its legality.

Corey DeAngelis, a school choice advocate and outspoken union critic, said Walters is the right person for the job. 

鈥淩yan Walters has the tenacity needed to take the unions head on,鈥� said DeAngelis, a senior fellow with the American Culture Project, an effort to mobilize independent voters around issues such as school choice and tax relief. 鈥淗is fearless advocacy against the status quo is exactly what we need to lead a mass exodus from the teachers union cartel.鈥�

An enthusiastic MAGA supporter, Walters frequently voiced his admiration for President Trump, even directing schools last year to of him praying for the president. 

But the administration hasn鈥檛 always reciprocated. 

Education Secretary Linda McMahon during an August stop to the state. Carlson suggested the Education Department likely coordinated the visit with Stitt鈥檚 office and, with 鈥渓ittle love lost鈥� between the two men, 鈥淲alters didn鈥檛 make the itinerary.鈥�

Department officials have also been critical so far of his proposal to eliminate federal testing requirements in the state and said to suggest McMahon would likely approve it.

While Stitt, current chair of the National Governor鈥檚 Association, initially supported Walters鈥� political aspirations, the two were no longer 鈥渙n the same page,鈥� Carlson said. 鈥淚 think the governor became frustrated with the effects that Walters initiatives were having on his economic development agenda.鈥�

The state, for example, received negative attention for being 50th in education in .

Not long before Walters jumped into politics, he was an award-winning history teacher in the McAlester school district, not far from the Arkansas state line. Former students saw him as fair and inclusive, not the anti-LGBTQ firebrand he later became as state superintendent. His love for teaching impressed McBride when the two first met in 2018. 

Despite a string of scandals, Walters always bounced back. A probe into his management of state funds last year found no misconduct or missing money. Most recently, he was cleared of any criminal charges following into why a movie with nude scenes, Jackie Chan鈥檚 1985 action film 鈥淭he Protector,鈥� was playing on a TV in his office during a state school board meeting. Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna said she found insufficient evidence that he had broken the law.

鈥楥onstant distraction鈥�

The episode was one of many that kept Walters in the news. Education advocates, who Walters frequently accused of indoctrinating students with left-wing ideas, largely expressed relief Wednesday night.

鈥淲e can get back to the true focus of teaching without the constant distraction and headlines from the  state superintendent,鈥� said Jami Jackson-Cole, a teacher who moderates a Facebook group of Oklahoma educators and advocates. 

As Walters departs next month, they鈥檙e wondering who will take his seat, not just for the remaining 15 months of his term, but in the 2026 election. 

Along with McBride, others rumored to be possible candidates for interim superintendent include , Stitt鈥檚 education secretary. A former member of a charter board, she voted in favor of approving the nation鈥檚 first religious charter school. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court split 4-4 on whether the school violated the First Amendment, allowing the state supreme court鈥檚 decision prohibiting tax dollars from funding the school to stand.

Regardless of who completes the rest of Walters鈥� term, advocates are also beginning to examine the records of those . Republican candidates include Rob Miller and John Cox, two superintendents. Two former Tulsa board members, Democrat Jennettie Marshall and independent Jerry Griffin, have also filed paperwork to enter the race.

With Walters 鈥渂eing out of the picture, maybe Oklahomans who are serious about public education can now get to work turning this ship around,鈥� said Erika Wright, an education organizer for Oklahoma Appleseed, a nonprofit law firm.  

She鈥檚 been working with a coalition of organizations to develop a for the state鈥檚 schools that focuses on the teaching profession, student performance, funding for education and school safety. 

鈥淭he possibilities that lie before us are really exciting,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ut the work is not done.鈥�