·      New federal tax filing appears to classify Garden State Forward contributions as political activity after years of different treatment

·      NJPI: Teachers and taxpayers deserve to know how tens of millions of dollars of union dues are being spent

The New Jersey Policy Institute (NJPI) has submitted supplemental information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regarding an apparent and significant change in how the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) is reporting tens of millions of dollars in contributions to Garden State Forward.

In its latest federal tax filing, NJEA appears to classify more than $30 million in recent contributions to Garden State Forward as political activity on Schedule C. This is a meaningful departure from how the union reported similar contributions in previous years.

NJPI welcomed the apparent change as a positive step toward greater transparency while noting that the new reporting reinforces concerns raised in its original IRS complaint regarding NJEA’s treatment of the additional over $80 million in Garden State Forward contributions since 2013.

“Transparency is exactly what we’ve been asking for, and if the NJEA is now acknowledging that these contributions to Garden State Forward constitute political activity, that’s an important step forward,” said NJPI Executive Director Wells Winegar. “But it also raises an obvious question. If this spending is political activity today, why were tens of millions of dollars in similar contributions treated differently in previous filings?”

NJPI’s original complaint asked the IRS to examine whether NJEA had properly reported contributions to Garden State Forward for federal tax purposes. NJPI alleged that the union had failed for years to identify those contributions as political activity despite Garden State Forward receiving more than $100 million from NJEA since 2013, including over $80 million between 2012 and 2023, and the additional more than $30 million in 2024.

Through continued representation from the Fairness Center, NJPI is now notifying the IRS of NJEA’s latest filing because the change in reporting is directly relevant to those concerns. The newest filing provides an important additional data point for the IRS as it evaluates whether similar Garden State Forward contributions were properly characterized in prior years.

“Our client’s IRS complaint appears to have forced the NJEA to finally report its most recent contributions to Garden State Forward as political activity. That is a major step toward the transparency that our client seeks for New Jersey teachers and taxpayers,” said Nathan McGrath, President and General Counsel at the Fairness Center. “But the shift also makes it harder for union officials to explain to their members and the IRS why they failed to report tens of millions of dollars in past contributions as political activity over the previous decade. Our client welcomes this news but insists that the NJEA must come clean about its prior reporting, too.”

The reporting change comes as New Jersey teachers Dr. Marie Dupont and Ann Marie Pocklembo are suing the NJEA and its former president, Sean Spiller, over the union’s use of more than $40 million in mandatory dues to back Spiller’s 2025 gubernatorial campaign. Their lawsuit alleges the NJEA told members that contributions to the union’s political action committees were voluntary and separate from regular dues, but then routed tens of millions of dollars in teachers’ dues to union-tied political groups backing Spiller’s candidacy anyway, even though Dupont and Pocklembo, who are also represented by the Fairness Center, made clear they did not want to support the union’s PACs.

The change also highlights a stark difference between the money teachers knowingly and voluntarily contribute to NJEA political committees and the much larger sums that have flowed through Garden State Forward. According to NJPI’s analysis, teachers voluntarily contribute approximately $900,000 to the NJEA Political Action Committee, while tens of millions of dollars in dues have moved through Garden State Forward for political activity.

“When teachers knowingly contribute to the union’s political committees, we’re talking about roughly $900,000,” said Winegar. “But when dues flow through Garden State Forward, we’re talking about tens of millions of dollars in political spending that many teachers may not have realized was taking place. That’s precisely why accurate and consistent disclosure matters. New Jersey teachers and taxpayers deserve to know when union dues are being used for political activities and purposes.” 

NJPI will continue advocating for greater transparency and accountability so New Jersey teachers can clearly understand how their union dues are being spent, particularly when those funds are used to influence elections and public policy.