They pledged to serve students.
They trusted their union.
They never signed away their rights.
Now, two courageous New Jersey teachers — Marie Dupont of Roselle and Ann Marie Pocklembo of Hamilton — are suing the New Jersey Education Association and its former president, Sean Spiller.
Their claim? The NJEA secretly funneled more than $40 million of teachers’ dues to political groups supporting Spiller’s failed run for governor — money that was never approved, never disclosed, and never meant for politics.
Dupont and Pocklembo say they were told political giving was optional. They opted out. But according to their lawsuit, NJEA leaders quietly diverted dues through front groups like Garden State Forward and Working New Jersey to bankroll Spiller’s campaign.
That’s not representation — that’s betrayal. And these two teachers had the courage to call it out.
Instead of focusing on classrooms, the NJEA turned itself into a political machine. While teachers fought burnout and budget cuts, union executives plotted political strategy and wrote seven-figure checks.
Sean Spiller didn’t just benefit from this corruption — he helped build a system in which insiders profit, members pay, no one asks permission, and the victims are never supposed to notice they’ve been swindled
Teachers deserve honesty. They deserve transparency. They deserve to know their dues aren’t being used as a personal slush fund by someone who claims to have their best interests at heart.
No teacher should have to sue their own union to find out where their dues money went.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling in Janus v. AFSCME, the Freedom Foundation has helped thousands of New Jersey educators learn the truth and exercise their right to stop paying pouring dues money down the NJEA rathole. Each one made the same choice Dupont and Pocklembo are standing for now — the right to say no to thievery and politics and yes to freedom.
These two teachers are not alone. They’re part of a growing movement of educators who believe unions should serve teachers, not use them.
The Freedom Foundation stands with every teacher who’s had enough.
It’s time for accountability.
It’s time for choice.
It’s time for freedom.
Learn more at OptOutToday.com/NJEA.
