(The Center Square) – The Pennsylvania State Education Association funneled nearly $1.5 million in membership dues into Gov. Josh Shapiro’s 2022 campaign, according to a recent complaint filed with the state’s Office of Attorney General.
In the 44-page document, the Freedom Foundation says the teachers union took extra steps to conceal the donation by routing it through unauthorized political funds and the Democratic Governors Association, violating state and federal campaign finance law.
Of note, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz chaired the association, though he wasn’t selected for the role until December. He stepped down earlier this week after Vice President Kamala Harris selected him as her running mate for the November general election.
However, other officers of the organization, as well as the union, are identified and linked to signatures found on paperwork for the alleged transfers.
Maxford Nelson, director of research and government affairs for the foundation, says that these signatures suggest officials willfully misappropriated the funds, especially considering the union followed the proper protocol for reporting separate transfers totaling $800,000 that supported the campaign using voluntary member donations – not their union dues.
“In the process, PSEA executives displayed as much contempt for their own members as they did for commonwealth law and voters,” Nelson said. “Pennsylvania teachers deserve to know that their union’s assurances that the dues deducted from their hard-earned paychecks aren’t being used to back political candidates are worth no more than a politician’s campaign promises.”
Chris Lilienthal, spokesman for PSEA, denied the allegations in an email to The Center Square on Thursday.
“PSEA, through its Fund for Student Success, made a lawful contribution to DGA, into an account that was permitted to accept union contributions,” he said. “None of those funds were used to make direct contributions to the Shapiro campaign.”
The Center Square was unsuccessful attempting to contact the Democratic Governors Assocation for comment.
The foundation also filed complaints with the Department of State, the Dauphin County district attorney, the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board, Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Philadelphia field office.
Nelson told The Center Square both the state attorney general’s office has confirmed that the complaint has been sent to its criminal division for review, where an investigation could be forthcoming.
The Department of State has opened its probe into the campaign finance allegations, while the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board has opened an administrative case, he added.
“If we can convince the board of the veracity of our allegations, they may impose a civil monetary penalty on PSEA and, if we can convince them that PSEA’s violations were willful, the board may also refer the matter to the Attorney General for prosecution,” Nelson said.
PSEA represents roughly 177,000 active and retired educators, making it the state’s largest public-sector union.
The foundation says Shapiro’s public support for school vouchers adds further context to the donations, given the union’s historical and fervent opposition.
“The parties’ behavior – paired with Gov. Shapiro’s prompt reversal once in office of a key campaign promise the union staunchly opposed – certainly raises at least the appearance of quid pro quo corruption,” Nelson wrote in the complaint.
The comments reference the widely publicized meltdown of a $100 million educational scholarship program forged by Shapiro and Senate Republican leadership last year. Despite his direct hand in the proposal, the governor didn’t intervene when House Democratic leadership, who control the lower chamber, sank the program as part of a wider budget deal.
Nelson later said that although the documents don’t allege a direct connection, the unreported donations offer “important context for the governor’s change of heart, especially since PSEA’s legal, disclosed contributions to Shapiro’s campaign amounted to only $800,000.”
Shapiro’s school choice stance was also targeted as a liability for the Harris campaign, who had strongly considered the first-term governor as a running mate before settling on Walz earlier this week.
