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Following the Education and Workforce Committee’s investigation that uncovered years of financial secrecy at the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), Representative Bob Onder (R-MO) introduced H.R. 9636, Improving Clarity and Transparency for Unions Act, or “Improving CTU Act,” to hold union leaders accountable and ensure American workers have access to information about how their dues are spent.

For the past five years, CTU failed to disclose required financial audits to its members, despite collecting nearly $150 million in member dues during that period. The Committee also found CTU repeatedly denied workers’ requests for financial information about how the union is spending dues collected from its own members.

“Too many workers are paying union dues while union leaders are spending lavishly at their own members’ expense or financing political causes workers may not support. Workers deserve to know how their money is being spent. But when unions like CTU fail to disclose their own financial audits, workers are robbed of that right. I am thankful Rep. Onder is introducing this critical legislation to promote transparency for workers so they can hold their own leaders accountable,” said Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI).

“Transparency should not depend on whether a worker can take time off to review hundreds of pages of financial records at a union office,” Representative Bob Onder continued. “I introduced this legislation because union members deserve the same accountability and disclosure standards they expect from any organization entrusted with millions of dollars in member dues.”

Background

The legislation follows a November 20, 2025, Committee on Education and Workforce investigation into CTU, which uncovered years of delayed audits, repeated denials of member requests for financial records, and policies that limited workers' ability to review information. These actions violated CTU’s own governing documents regarding financial transparency.

The Committee also found that, despite collecting nearly $150 million in member dues over a five-year period, CTU leadership devoted less than 17 percent of its spending to collective bargaining and member services. This amounted to members receiving less than 18 months of collective bargaining and member services for the five years of dues they paid. These findings underscore the importance of ensuring workers have clear visibility into how union leadership allocates member resources.

H.R. 9636 Improving CTU Act would strengthen financial transparency requirements for labor organizations and help ensure workers have timely access to the financial information they need to hold union leadership accountable.