In a series of complaints filed with state and federal authorities last month, the Freedom Foundation, a government union watchdog, alleges the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) and the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) engaged in a money laundering scheme to illegally bankroll Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s 2022 gubernatorial campaign with nearly $1.5 million in teachers’ union dues.
Pennsylvania law prohibits unions from utilizing members’ dues to contribute to political candidates. But in May 2022, PSEA made two, six-figure contributions from its general fund to the Fund for Student Success (FSS), an opaque political fund operated by PSEA but little-known to its members. The FSS then handed the funds to the DGA, which is dedicated to supporting “Democratic governors and candidates across the nation.”
Allegedly, both the PSEA and the DGA neglected to…
