N.J. Teachers, Think Tank Challenge NJEA’s $40 Million Political Spending
Teachers sue union for diverting dues to bankroll union president’s gubernatorial campaign; think tank files IRS, election commission complaints over hidden spending.
September 30, 2025, Trenton, N.J. — Two longtime New Jersey teachers and a statewide think tank are taking legal action against the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) over its use of tens of millions of dollars of its members’ mandatory union dues to bankroll its president’s political campaign.
In a lawsuit filed today in Mercer County, Roselle teacher Dr. Marie Dupont and Hamilton Township teacher Ann Marie Pocklembo argue that the union broke their membership contract, made misrepresentations, and breached its fiduciary duty to members when it spent more than $40 million of union members’ dues to support then-NJEA president Sean Spiller’s gubernatorial campaign.
Dupont and Pocklembo say the union pulled a bait-and-switch: It told teachers funding the union’s political organization was voluntary, then spent every teacher’s money through PACs anyway—while taking steps to hide that spending. Teachers who join the NJEA sign a membership card that functions as a contract, stating that giving to the union’s PAC is optional and separate from regular membership dues. Other membership materials reinforced this impression, but filings allege union officials broke the contract and created a shell game to reroute dues.
“When I signed my union membership card, I chose not to support the union’s PAC,” said Dupont, an immigrant, mother of three, and Roselle teacher for nearly two decades. “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.” Dupont has since resigned her union membership in protest.
NJEA Played Shell Game with Teachers’ Dues, Complaint Alleges
During the 2025 gubernatorial campaign, the NJEA steered tens of millions of dollars into Garden State Forward, a political organization that NJEA officers created, controlled, and funded with union membership dues. Garden State Forward then passed $40 million to Working New Jersey, a Super PAC run by union insiders, and another, now-shuttered organization called Protecting Our Democracy, both of which used the money to support Spiller’s gubernatorial campaign.
The teachers further allege that NJEA officials violated the union’s conflict of interest policy by using members’ dues to personally benefit its president, breaching the union’s fiduciary duty to them under state law to avoid conflicts of interest. Spiller engaged in self-dealing because he held decision-making positions at the union and the organizations that funneled members’ dues to back his campaign, according to the lawsuit.
“I never agreed to bankroll a politician,” said Pocklembo, a Hamilton Township teacher for 30 years and an NJEA member. “It’s an obvious conflict of interest when the union president benefits from backroom deals to fund his own campaign with members’ money. It makes the union look shady and it undermines teachers’ trust.”
Spiller ultimately finished fifth in the Democratic primary with more than $40 million spent to garner fewer than 90,000 votes—more than $400 per vote.
“By diverting members’ mandatory dues to its president’s gubernatorial campaign, while giving them the impression that funding the union PAC was purely optional, our teacher clients allege that the union broke the law and breached its fiduciary duty,” said Nathan McGrath, president and general counsel for the Fairness Center, a national public interest law firm that represents the teachers. “This lawsuit seeks to hold the union and Sean Spiller accountable for self-dealing instead of serving members’ best interests.”
Think Tank Files IRS, ELEC Complaints Requesting Investigations
Separately, the Fairness Center also represents the nonprofit New Jersey Policy Institute (NJPI), which has filed complaints with the IRS and the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) requesting investigations into the union’s handling of its political spending. The IRS complaint alleges the union, a federal tax-exempt nonprofit, violated federal tax law by failing to disclose its giving to Garden State Forward as political activity on the required federal tax forms. The ELEC filing alleges the union evaded New Jersey’s $5,800 campaign contribution limit by using two related or affiliated entities—NJEA PAC and Protecting Our Democracy, Inc.—to donate a combined $11,600 to Spiller’s campaign.
“We believe that the New Jersey Education Association used a web of organizations to fund its president’s run for governor and skirted federal tax law and state election law in the process,” said NJPI president Rosemary Becchi. “It’s time for the IRS and the state election commission to investigate and hold the union accountable. Everyone, including teachers’ unions, must play by the same rules when it comes to election law.”
“Union officials don’t get a pass on federal tax law or state election law,” McGrath added. “Our client’s complaints shine a bright light on the NJEA’s reporting practices, which appear to obfuscate their use of dues for politics and for the personal benefit of the union president.”
The NJPI’s filings seek official investigations to determine if the union violated tax and election laws. Meanwhile, Dupont & Pocklembo v. NJEA & Spiller asks the court to rule that the union broke its contract, made misrepresentations, and breached its fiduciary responsibility.
Clients and Fairness Center attorneys are available for comment. Please contact us at media@fairnesscenter.org or 844.293.1001 to schedule an interview.
Client Photos
Dr. Marie Dupont (left/top); Ann Marie Pocklembo (right/bottom). Image credit: Harvard Studio Photography.