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 Election 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.

According to the teachers’ lawsuit filed yesterday in Mercer County, NJEA’s annual membership cards “clarify that regular membership dues payments are distinct from voluntary PAC contributions.” These cards function as contracts that allow members to designate whether they want their dues to go towards political PACs or just towards their union support. The current card says, “[c]ontributions are voluntary and are not a condition of membership in NEA, NJEA, or any of their affiliates. A member may refuse to make any contribution and this will not affect his or her membership rights or benefits.” Instead, according to a press release, “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.  

“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.” 

The lawsuit lists three counts: Breach of Contract (Plaintiffs against NJEA), Negligent Misrepresentation (Plaintiffs against NJEA), and Breach of Fiduciary Duty (Plaintiffs against NJEA and Spiller).

In a statement, NJEA called the lawsuit and the calls for investigation “baseless and without merit.”

“NJEA is a member-led union that operates as a representative democracy. 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,” said Steve Baker, the spokesperson. “We will defend the right of our members to join together in power to advocate for our profession and our students.”