A July 24, 2024, Freedom Foundation press release reveals the organization filed three complaints against the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) for allegedly laundering member dues to “bankroll Josh Shapiro’s 2022 candidacy.” The complaints allege the “Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) and the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) executed an illegal scheme during the 2022 Pennsylvania general election to surreptitiously use nearly $1.5 million in teachers’ union dues to back then-candidate Josh Shapiro’s gubernatorial campaign.” The allegations are of particular interest given that Shapiro may well be the chosen running mate for Kamala Harris in the upcoming presidential election.
PSEA describes itself as “the largest public sector union in the state.” According to Freedom Foundation documents, “The U.S. Department of Labor Form LM-2, PSEA had 137,087 active members and nearly $110 million in total receipts in the 2022-23 academic year.” PSEA maintains two political committees: PSEA-PACE and the Fund for Student Success (FSS).
There is plenty of evidence pointing to PSEA’s support of Shapiro. According to the Freedom Foundation, PSEA endorsed Shapiro in December 2021. A page on the website appealed for contributions to a PSEA political committee to help “a pro-public education governor.” PSEA also urged members to vote for Shapiro against Mastriano in the September and November 2022 issues of the union’s member newsletter, PSEA Voice.
The Freedom Foundation’s complaints show that PSEA appears to have made two large contributions to FSS totaling $1,475,000 from the union’s general treasury without the knowledge of its members. FSS is a relatively new political fund established in 2018, according to Maxford Nelsen, the Freedom Foundation’s Director of Research and Government Affairs. According to Mr. Nelsen, FSS is much less visible to its members than PACE is. PACE is a long-standing political fund properly registered in the state. “The only reference to the FSS on PSEA’s website is found in a brief article from the September 2018 edition of the union’s membership newsletter, which notes that ‘The Fund for Student Success will not—and legally cannot—provide campaign contributions to candidates, elected officials, or campaign committees,” according to the Freedom Foundation.
Notably, FSS is “not registered as a political committee in Pennsylvania,” says Nelsen. FSS does not file campaign finance disclosures in the state, and it is “funded entirely by the general fund of PSEA,” Nelsen told UncoverDC. He also explained that while “there is nothing illegal about it existing, it too should have been registered as a political committee within the state.” He also believes PSEA members “would be surprised to learn that the union operates this fund for the purpose of direct candidate campaign work.”