Teachers in New Jersey who disagree with the politics of their union are likely to revolt during the months before the 2025 state gubernatorial election.

Free speech activists predict that as tax records provide further evidence that membership fees are used primarily to benefit left-of center causes, more teachers will be inclined to leave New Jersey Education Association.

The union, which represents approximately 200,000 educators in the state is a major contributor to the New Jersey Democratic Party. During the election cycle of 2021-22, the NJEA PAC has spent over $1 million to support candidates in New Jersey. 86 per cent have favored Democrats.

But that is not the entire story. Americans for Fair Treatment, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting teachers’ First Amendment rights and those of other public school employees, has made an important discovery. AFFT discovered that $6 million of NJEA dues were hidden in a form of a gift and flowed from 2020-2021 to a Garden State Forward-affiliated PAC. Garden State Forward is an independent expenditure committee that can funnel unlimited amounts of money to political organizations.

The communications director of AFFT, Isabel Blank told Restoration News that there are many ways unions can move money so it does not appear as if they spend dues on political activities. This is one example in particular that members should be aware of. The union may claim that the members can choose not to donate money to the PAC, but our findings show this isn’t true.

The only way to avoid political contributions is by opting out of union membership.

Independent expenditures is a campaign communication that advocates for the election or defeating of certain candidates but does not coordinate with any candidate. Garden State Forward and other IEs benefit candidates by not requiring them to report their expenditures.

According to retired Monmouth County educator Sue Fischer, the NJEA is a powerful political force. Fischer was happy with the work done by her union at the county-level, but she discovered that the majority of her dues were paid to the NJEA as well as the National Education Association.

Fischer explained that the NJEA was one of the richest and most powerful unions for teachers in the country. Before I retired, I discovered that union members paid some of the highest dues across the country.

Fischer estimates that about $1200 of her union dues went to the NJEA, and an additional $200 went to NEA. Her local union received only $25 from her.

Fischer was able to learn more about the NJEA’s dues structure while attending a Conference earlier this year in Denver, Colorado. The conference, organized by the Freedom Foundation, a think tank that promotes free markets, brought Fischer in contact with teachers across the nation.

Fischer stated, “We are definitely close to paying the highest dues in the country.” I found out that, for instance, California teachers pay about half as much in dues.

After reading the NJEA magazine, Fischer became aware of how out-of-step the union was with their own values. One issue was dedicated to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Fischer recalled that there was an issue with Hillary Clinton’s mugshot on the front cover. It was a real eye-opener for many, as the magazine was meant to be aimed at teachers but was instead all about politics. When you open the magazine, they promote policies such as abortion and 99 percent are Democrats running for office.

Reaffirming Free Speech Rights

Fischer took advantage of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the union mandates that were imposed on public sector employees in 2018. She no longer had to pay for political parties she doesn’t support. The high court in v.AFSCME invalidated state laws requiring public employees to pay dues and fees for union membership as a condition of employment.

Fischer remembered that the decision was made the day following school’s end in 2018. “Me and some of my co-workers immediately put in an opt out of being a part of the union.”

But Gov. Fischer claimed that Phil Murphy, a Democrat who benefits by union donations, tried to preempt the January ruling through “opt-out” rules which were in direct conflict with the court decision.

Fischer said, “If you’ve read the ruling it says that public employees have to knowingly choose to join a union.” This means that you must give your consent. Murphy, however, was trying to circumvent the ruling to make it difficult for people to leave, so we filed a lawsuit.

In Fischer V. Murphy (2021), plaintiffs argued the actions Murphy had taken prior to the Janus decision were unconstitutional. Fischer claimed that her lawsuit raised awareness among teachers, even though the case was dismissed by the federal court in January 2021.

Fischer explained that when the Janus decision was first announced, there was a silence. No one knew. The biggest takeaway is that our lawsuit made teachers aware of their rights.

Fischer, who retired from teaching in 2019, knows that more teachers are now leaving the NJEA. She expects this trend to continue, even though it is difficult to know how many teachers have left the NJEA. Mike Lilley is credited by Fischer for his constant efforts to highlight the money and power behind the NJEA.

Blank, AFFT’s communications director envisions a scenario in which more teachers leave unions on a state and national scale, but support “local-only” unions.

Blank said that this distinction was important, because individuals who continue paying dues to their union local even after they have withdrawn from state or national affiliations are likely to feel disillusioned by the way larger unions distribute resources. They still value the work of local unions. Instead of suggesting that workers continue doing this, it would be better for locals dissociate themselves from national and state level unions.”

New Jersey’s political competitiveness could increase as more teachers who oppose the NJEA politics leave the union. Already, there are some trends that suggestive. The 2024 New Jersey presidential race will be the closest one in over three decades. It’s not the first time a statewide election has been surprisingly close.

Jack Ciattarelli is a former Republican Assemblyman and Businessman. almost defeated Murphy by a fraction of a percent in the 2021 Governor’s race. Ciattarelli, a former Republican assemblyman and businessman, is running for governor once again. He faces a crowded Republican Primary with 7 other candidates. NJEA President Sean Spiller, along with five candidates on the Democratic side is running for Governor.