NJ teachers union used $40M in dues to fund leader’s run for governor, lawsuit says

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The largest teachers union in New Jersey was sued Tuesday for allegedly using millions in membership dues to fund the political campaign of its former president.

The lawsuit, filed by nonprofit law firm The Fairness Center and two longtime teachers, accuses the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) of misusing more than $40 million in the mandatory dues. The teachers union provided the funds to Garden State Forward, a political organization created by NJEA officers, during the 2025 campaign season, according to the lawsuit.

Garden State Forward allegedly then shared the funds with two groups which supported the New Jersey gubernatorial campaign of Sean Spiller, who was president of NJEA at the time. Spiller’s campaign was ultimately unsuccessful, as he finished fifth in the Democratic primary in June.

Marie Dupont and Ann Marie Pocklembo, the teachers on the lawsuit, say NJEA violated its conflict of interest policy by supporting Spiller’s campaign. The two educators also claim NJEA told members that supporting the union’s political organization was optional, a promise which was allegedly broken by using dues to fund Garden State Forward.

“When I signed my union membership card, I chose not to support the union’s PAC,” Dupont, who teaches in Roselle, said in a statement. “Then I found out that a handful of union insiders spent $40 million of teachers’ dues—including mine—on the union president’s political ambitions. That’s wrong, and I believe it’s illegal.”

Pocklembo said in a statement of her own that the move “undermines teachers’ trust” and makes NJEA “look shady.”

The two teachers and The Fairness Center are looking to hold NJEA accountable for “self-dealing instead of serving members’ best interests,” which could include providing “an accounting of the use and status of NJEA membership dues” for 2024 and 2025.

NJEA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Off The Press. However, a union spokesperson told the New Jersey Monitor that the accusations are “baseless and without merit.”

“Our members’ decisions about which candidates to endorse and what resources to use in support of those endorsed candidates are made by our elected bodies,” Steve Baker, the spokesperson, reportedly said. “We will defend the right of our members to join together in power to advocate for our profession and our students.”

NJEA is a state-level affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA), a teachers union giant which represents 3 million educators nationwide. The House Committee on Education and the Workforce opened an investigation into NEA earlier this week over concerns that the union profited off of members’ retirement investments through “questionable arrangements.”