This Labor Day, ask your union: who do you really serve?

This Labor Day, many New Jersey workers have good reason to ask whether union officials are serving rank-and-file members — or themselves. It's an especially urgent question for the 200,000 teachers represented by the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA). Two of those educators, Roselle teacher Dr. Marie Dupont and Hamilton Township teacher Ann Marie Pocklembo, allege in a lawsuit that then-NJEA president Sean Spiller misused tens of millions of dollars in teachers' mandatory dues to finance his own 2025 bid for governor. As NJEA president, Spiller was one of three union executives in control of its political action committee (PAC), Garden State Forward , which sent more than $40 million to groups backing his campaign, according to the lawsuit . It alleges Spiller and the NJEA violated their fiduciary duty to act in teachers' interests. A question of trust According to the lawsuit, those millions came not from teachers' voluntary PAC contributions but from mandatory union dues. But the NJEA's membership cards — contracts between teachers and the union — told members that contributions to the union's PACs were voluntary and separate from regular dues, the teachers allege. Pocklembo, for instance, said she had double-checked with the union to ensure she was not supporting its PACs. The teachers allege the union broke its own contract with members. Mandatory dues flowed to Garden State Forward, which then sent money to two union-affiliated political groups that funded pro-Spiller ads, flyers and billboards: Working New Jersey and Protecting Our Democracy. Spiller chaired the latter group. 'It looks to me like an obvious conflict of interest when the union president benefits from backroom deals to fund his own campaign with members' money,' Pocklembo said . A separate IRS complaint filed by the nonprofit New Jersey Policy Institute also alleged the NJEA had for years failed to report its Garden State Forward contributions, which have totaled more than $100 million since 2013, as political activity. With the IRS on alert, the NJEA adjusted how it reports its Garden State Forward contributions on its latest annual federal return , for the first time classifying them as political spending. The union's pivot reinforces concerns about why the union reported tens of millions of dollars in similar contributions differently in earlier years. This scandal, involving the biggest union in the state, shows why New Jersey workers should insist union officials are held to the letter of the law. When unions don't defend members Across the Delaware River, my firm represents Pennsylvania workers who know firsthand that the consequences of union insiders being put first can also reach into seniority and workplace opportunities. Take Todd Burns , a utilities complaints investigator for the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission. Burns understood that the contract AFSCME Council 13 had negotiated for state employees stipulated that promotions were to be awarded by qualifications, but that if multiple candidates had equivalent qualifications, seniority would determine who got the promotion. Burns earned the highest possible performance rating and applied for a promotion — only for a less qualified and less senior employee to get the job instead, he says. It turns out that candidate was a friend and former colleague of the hiring manager, his lawsuit alleges. Then, Burns went to his union, expecting that AFSCME Council 13 would defend the terms of the contract and the job posting by filing a grievance on his behalf. Instead, the union refused to intercede on his behalf, he alleges in a lawsuit against AFSCME Council 13 and the state. Union officials can also influence who gets opportunities on the job and who is left behind. During pandemic shutdowns, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation worker Mindy McFetridge, also an AFSCME Council 13 member, was told she could either use her paid leave or go on unemployment and risk of losing her seniority. McFetridge, a single mother, had carefully preserved her paid leave so she could care for her daughter, who has a serious medical condition. Meanwhile, losing her seniority could have cost her the job-site flexibility she and her daughter depended on. AFSCME's contract called for seniority-based layoffs. But after exhausting her leave and going on unemployment, McFetridge discovered that less senior employees had remained on the job, including local union officials and their friends and family members, according to her lawsuit. McFetridge sued the union, which argued that her loss of seniority didn't harm her. But McFetridge recently won an appeal where a judge wrote that the union's actions put her at risk of being 'leapfrogged' on the seniority list. Workers deserve accountability Membership contracts. Promotion opportunities. Seniority. These are fundamental concerns for union-represented employees across New Jersey and America. This Labor Day should remind union officials that they have a legal obligation to serve workers' interests in these matters — not their own. Nathan McGrath is president and general counsel for the Fairness Center, a nonprofit law firm that provides free legal representation to those hurt by public-sector union officials.