Two NJ Teachers Sue NJEA For Misusing Their Union Dues In Bid for Governor
By Laura Waters
October 1, 2025
Two New Jersey teachers — Roselle teacher Dr. Marie Dupont and Hamilton Township teacher Ann Marie Pocklembo — are suing their union and former NJEA president and gubernatorial candidate Sean Spiller for illegally and deceptively funneling more than $40 million in non-voluntary member dues in a failed bid to elect Spiller as governor.
“NJEA officials misled their members when they used teachers’ dues in ways unconsented to by the teachers and to pursue their personal political ambitions,” Nathan McGrath, president and general counsel for the Fairness Center said during an online news conference. “During the 2025 gubernatorial campaign, the NJEA spent more than $40 million of members’ mandatory union dues to bankroll then-NJEA president Sean Spiller’s run for governor.”
The teachers say the New Jersey Education Association breached its contract by sending their dues, without their permission, to Garden State Forward, the union’s super PAC, which then sent the funds to Working New Jersey, the independent expenditure group that spent the $40+ million. The only reported donations on Working New Jersey’s campaign filings came from the union super PAC.
In addition, New Jersey Policy Institute has filed complaints with the IRS and the the NJ Eclection Law Enforcement Commission alleging that NJEA violated the Campaign Contributions and Expenditures Reporting Act, N.J.S.A. 19:44A-1 and that NJEA, according to the request for an investigation, “made double the maximum allowable contribution to a candidate’s gubernatorial campaign in connection with this year’s Democratic primary election—and not just any candidate, but its then-President.”
“Every taxpayer deserves transparency about the role powerful special interests play in our elections, and every candidate, no matter how well connected, must be bound by the same laws as everyone else,” said Rosemary Becchi, the institute’s president.
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