In a series of three complaints filed yesterday with state and federal authorities, the Freedom Foundation alleges that 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. ...

Pennsylvania campaign finance and collective bargaining laws prohibit unions from using their general treasury funds to make contributions to political candidates, though federal court rulings allow unions to use such funds to independently purchase their own advertisements supporting or opposing candidates for office.

Nevertheless, the complaints document how PSEA made two, six-figure contributions from its general treasury to the Fund for Student Success (FSS), a little-known political fund operated by the union, which then contributed the funds to the DGA in May 2022 which, in turn, contributed heavily to Shapiro’s successful campaign for governor.