NJ teachers union leader abused $40M for failed political aspirations, lawsuit says

🔴 Teachers file lawsuit against the New Jersey Education Association

🔴 The teachers union, headed by Sean Spiller, donated $40 million to his campaign

🔴 NJEA denies wrongdoing, calling the challenge “baseless”

New Jersey teachers, angry that their dues funded the failed political aspirations of the NJEA president, have filed a lawsuit accusing the state's largest teachers union of a bait-and-switch.

Sean Spiller, the head of the union and former Montclair mayor, ran for governor in the Democratic primary.

He finished in fifth place with 11% of the vote after spending around $40 million on his gubernatorial campaign.

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According to various media reports, the NJEA's super PAC, Garden State Forward, contributed the funds — funneled from the union's operating budget, which comes from member dues.

The lawsuit is baseless, said NJEA spokesperson Steve Baker.

"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. We will defend the right of our members to join together in power to advocate for our profession and our students," Baker said.

Teachers say dues funded Spiller’s failed governor run

According to the lawsuit filed in Mercer County, two teachers say the NJEA broke their contracts by donating dues to Spiller's campaign.

“I never agreed to bankroll a politician,” said Ann Marie Pocklembo, who has taught music in Hamilton Township in Mercer County for 30 years.

The lawsuit said that the NJEA's instructions for membership sign-up said that PAC contributions were voluntary.

"Teachers had no say in this. Spending money that paid for giant billboards, television ads, thousands of mailers, and other campaign expenses. It came out of members' paychecks," said Marie Dupont to reporters on Tuesday.

Dupont, a teacher in Roselle since 2007, said she chose not to support the union's PAC when she became a union member. She has since surrendered her membership in protest.

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