Pay for Play: Al Sharpton Books Labor Bosses Who Pour Millions Into His Nonprofit on MSNBC Show

Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network has received millions of dollars from prominent labor unions whose bosses frequently appear on the controversial activist’s MSNBC show, often without any disclosure about their lucrative financial ties.

In the past year alone, Sharpton, who hosts PoliticsNation on the weekends, has interviewed the presidents of five unions that have given his nonprofit a total of $6.3 million: American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association (NEA), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), American Federation of Government Employees, and American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

In all, labor unions have given nearly $8 million earmarked as "gifts," "grants," or payments for "political activities" to the National Action Network, which in some years has paid Sharpton a $1 million salary and paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for private jets and limo services.

The unions do work with Sharpton at the National Action Network, often appearing at events hosted by the nonprofit, or holding rallies. But they are also frequently represented on PoliticsNation, where Sharpton heaps praise on the union bosses and feeds them softball questions about Republican labor policies.

In a March 23 interview with NEA president Becky Pringle, Sharpton asked what her union was doing to combat President Donald Trump’s "swift and drastic" closure of the Department of Education. Pringle plugged an NEA "call to action" to "hold members of Congress responsible and accountable," and bolster opposition to vouchers for private schools.

In a Sept. 2 interview, Sharpton hailed SEIU president April Verrett as part of "a new generation of young labor leaders." Verrett hyped the union’s influence, which she said is "building the multiracial, multiethnic democracy of our dreams." She also pushed back on the image that unions are "corrupt, bad, and just want to take people's money."

Most MSNBC viewers—not to mention dues-paying union members—were likely unaware of the financial relationship between Sharpton and the unions. Unmentioned in Sharpton’s recent interviews is the National Education Association's $600,000 donations to National Action Network since 2008, including an $85,000 donation last year. Verrett’s union has donated $1.9 million for "political activities" to National Action Network since 2006.

It’s the latest potential conflict of interest for Sharpton and MSNBC, which faced scrutiny after a series of Washington Free Beacon reports that Kamala Harris's campaign paid $500,000 to National Action Network shortly before Sharpton interviewed the Democratic candidate on his show on Oct. 20. The media ethics group Society of Professional Journalists blasted the network and Sharpton for creating a "black eye" for the media industry by failing to notify its audience about the conflict of interest.

The relationship may also violate MSNBC parent Comcast’s code of conduct, which states that "we look out for actual, potential, and even perceived conflicts of interest that may arise based on employment or other activities outside the Company, financial interests, or personal relationships."

"Even when nothing inappropriate is intended, we recognize that the appearance of a conflict of interest can cause harm, such as damaging our reputation or business relationships," Comcast says.

Union payments have bedeviled MSNBC in the past. The network faced scrutiny in 2011 after revelations that labor unions paid $252,000 to the media company of MSNBC anchor Ed Schultz. MSNBC defended the arrangement, but a person who worked at the network at the time told the Free Beacon that the prevailing belief in the halls of MSNBC was that Schultz’s arrangement "smelled."

In rare cases, Sharpton has disclosed financial ties between the National Action Network and the unions represented on his show, suggesting he is aware he should disclose that information to his audience. Sharpton opened a Jan. 24 interview with Everett Kelley, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees, noting that the union "support[s] National Action Network in many of our events."

Kelley’s group has given $525,000 to National Action Network, according to Department of Labor records. But Sharpton made no similar disclosure in interviews with Kelley in 2020 and 2022, in which Sharpton prompted Kelley with questions that criticized Trump over the coronavirus pandemic and the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.

Sharpton made no mention in an interview last month with Randi Weingarten that her union, the American Federation of Teachers, has donated $1.5 million payments to National Action Network.

Sharpton made no disclosure in an interview in November with Weingarten and Lee Saunders, the president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, which has given $1.8 million to the National Action Network. In 2018, Sharpton interviewed Saunders about a landmark Supreme Court ruling against AFSCME that public employees cannot be required to pay union dues in order to gain employment.

Sharpton offered a diatribe of pro-union talking points, claiming that the decision was "really about big corporations being able to stifle you and other unions from being able to represent the interests and benefits of workers."

That hefty union support seemingly helps National Action Network pay Sharpton a hefty salary that in some years has topped $1 million. That’s in addition to the salary of at least $750,000 that Sharpton reportedly hauls in from his MSNBC gig.

The union bosses do get other perks from the National Action Network donations. Weingarten, Pringle, Kelley, Saunders, and Verrett are all slated to speak at the National Action Network conference that starts on April 2.

They will appear alongside Sharpton's MSNBC colleagues Ari Melber, Alicia Menendez, Michael Steele, Symone Sanders, and Chris Matthews.

MSNBC and National Action Network did not respond to requests for comment.

The post Pay for Play: Al Sharpton Books Labor Bosses Who Pour Millions Into His Nonprofit on MSNBC Show appeared first on .