Teachers unions are perpetually working to rally their members to get behind myriad social and political causes that often have nothing to do with the classroom. From bullying educators to embracing transgender ideology or pushing anti-police rhetoric and seeking to ban voter ID, they will continue to find ways to advance their progressive agenda instead of focusing on improving education quality.

Case in point: The NEA recently emailed its members urging them to contact their senators about confirming two of President Biden’s latest judicial nominees.

When backing nominees for non-partisan positions like federal judge, unions usually focus their rhetoric on the nominee’s pro-union record or credentials. In NEA’s view, however, just about any progressive cause de jour qualifies as a labor issue.

Regarding judicial appointments, the NEA writes:

“Many important cases come before federal courts and impact our communities daily — they determine what happens in our schools, who has access to the ballot box and health care, labor and disability rights, LGBTQ+ equality, protections for immigrants, gun safety, and more.”

Sure seems like a lot of issues unrelated to education being advocated for by a “teachers” union.

Unsurprisingly, the union’s preferred choices for federal judgeships are not just pro-union, but thoroughly left-wing across the board..

For example, let’s take a closer look at the two NEA-backed judges currently awaiting Senate confirmation: Mustafa T. Kasubhai, named to the U.S. District Court of Oregon, and Karla Campbell, whom Biden wishes to place on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit.

Mustafa T. Kasubhai:

• Requires all individuals appearing in his courtroom to state their preferred pronouns prior to speaking. Has a PDF document dedicated to explaining the process and lists this as the first rule for his courtroom.
• Wrote, “Destabilizing Power in Rape: Why Consent Theory in Rape Law is Turned On Its Head,” an extremely leftwing piece that at one point explores the idea that, “heterosexual relationships per se are infused with violence and control.”

Karla Campbell:

• Served as a legal advisor for the nonprofit group Workers Dignity, an openly Marxist labor organization based out of Tennessee.
• Workers Dignity has called for the abolition of both ICE and the police and protested events by conservative commentator Matt Walsh seeking to protect children from transgenderism.

But Kasubhai and Campbell are just the latest two extreme judicial nominees the NEA has thrown its weight behind. The NEA proudly takes some credit for getting other Biden-appointed judges confirmed in recent years, all of whom are at least as concerning as the two currently awaiting confirmation.

The list includes:

Ketanji Brown Jackson:

• Blocked a Trump executive order that would hold failing federal employees accountable. The executive order was designed to grant federal agencies more power and control over terminating poor performers. It also limited the amount of time federal workers could conduct union business on the taxpayer’s time.
• Described the Supreme Court’s decision striking down affirmative action in college admissions as a “tragedy for us all” in her dissent.
• When asked to define the word “woman” during her confirmation hearing, stated, “I can’t … I’m not a biologist.” Following that hearing, when asked the same question for the record, she declined to answer.

Nancy Abudu:

• Served as the deputy legal director and director for strategic litigation at the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an extremely leftwing group that, despite its progressive values, has been roiled by internal labor issues with its own staff and union. In 2019 allegations of sexual harassment surfaced within the organization. This, along with discrimination claims, spurred the workers of SPLC to unionize. But things have been far from harmonious following their unionization with the SPLC laying off 25 percent of its staff — an action both sides claim is a deliberate union-busting tactic.
• During her time at the SPLC, Abudu said that requiring photo ID to vote was one of her biggest concerns and claimed such election integrity measures are an attempt to “establish white supremacy.”

Nancy Maldonado:

• Signed a legal brief defending an Illinois statute banning “assault weapons” as the counsel on record. When asked to define the term Maldonado skirted the question, stating she “didn’t write the brief” and was not “a gun expert.”
• Admitted in her questions for the record to the Senate Judiciary Committee to having affiliations with Robert Raben, of the Raben Group, and working with him on getting an endorsement from the Hispanic National Bar Association. The Raben Group is a leftwing lobbying group whose clients include Planned Parenthood and George Soros’ Open Society Foundations.

Casey Pitts:

• Serves as a member of the amicus and judiciary committees of Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF), an LGBTQI Bar Association.
• BALIF recently submitted a joint friend-of-the-court brief to the U.S. Supreme Court regarding a case challenging a Tennessee law that prohibits children from accessing “gender-affirming care.” BALIF states that it “unequivocally supports the right for transgender youth to have access to gender-affirming medical care,” and claims failure to facilitate youths’ gender transitions is immoral and potentially life-threatening.
• BALIF also openly supported California Senate Bill 239 in 2017. The bill was introduced by California State Sen. (and BALIF member) Scott Weiner. SB 239 reduced penalties for HIV-positive individuals who knowingly expose others to HIV. Whether it be through sexual activity or donating blood, SB 239 reduced the charges from a felony to a misdemeanor.

Nusrat Choudhury:

• Served as the legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois and has made countless racially charged statements about the justice system and law enforcement.
• While speaking at an event in 2018, Choudhury said, “A lot of the racial animus that undergirded apartheid in America was shifted into the criminal justice system.”
• During a panel with WTTW Chicago, Choudhury stated, “It’s important to recognize that the roots of policing systems are actually grounded in slavery and segregation and upholding institutions of racial insubordination.”
• Choudhury also claimed, “Most of us should know that the modern police department was founded based on slave patrols…”

Does the NEA endorse these judges because they believe they can further advance the labor rights of American educators, or is it just another way to advance the union’s radical progressive agenda? Looking at the NEA’s endorsement history, the answer seems clear.