Backing Spiller for Governor Costs Money: NJEA Hikes Teachers’ Highest-in-the-Nation Dues to $1,082

The NJEA has long had the highest dues in the nation, but now by an even larger margin. NJEA leadership just hiked teachers’ annual dues to $1,082 from $1,038, a 4.2% increase.  That’s up 8.2% over the past two years.  The second-highest dues belong to the far-larger California Teachers Association (CTA) which increased their dues by 3.8% to $816, so NJEA dues are now 33% higher than CTA dues, up from 32% higher last year.  On the other hand, perhaps recognizing the squeeze on households from inflation, the Michigan Education Association (MEA) kept their dues flat at $655.  Of course, the CTA and MEA aren’t looking to use teachers’ dues to fund a gubernatorial run by their union president the way NJEA is.  That NJEA-backed Super PAC primed to spend $35 million to support NJEA President/gubernatorial candidate Sean Spiller will need money from somewhere.

Here’s the data for 2024-25 dues for NJEA, CTA, NEA-Alaska*, MEA and the Massachusetts Teachers Association.  (NJEA, CTA, NEA-Alaska, and MEA have long been in the top five, and we added Massachusetts because it is a state to which the NJEA often compares New Jersey’s public education system). Here’s the data:

• New Jersey: $1,082
• CTA: $816
• NEA-Alaska: $806
• MEA: $655
• Massachusetts TA: $556

The NJEA’s national parent, the National Education Association (NEA), also increased its dues to $213, or 2.4%, so here is an estimate of the 2024-25 total dues burden for a full-time New Jersey teacher:

• NJEA: $1,082
• NEA: $213
• Local association**: $185
• County association**: $45
• TOTAL: $1,525

$1,525 is a lot of money for a New Jersey teacher, who on average earns $81,102 a year.  It’s even more for a beginning teacher who earns less than $60,000 a year.

Then again, it costs a lot of money to fund the personal political ambitions of an NJEA president who wants to be governor.  NJEA leadership has already given $8 million to Spiller’s personal Super PAC (Protecting Our Democracy), and is looking to spend another $35 million via a newly created NJEA-backed Super PAC (Working New Jersey).  That money has to come from somewhere.

*  NEA-Alaska dues were $745 for 2022-23.  To give a sense of what its dues were in 2024-25 to compare to the NJEA, we increased the 2022-23 dues by 8.3% — the same percentage that NJEA dues were increased — to $806.

** NJEA dues have historically comprised 70% of total dues; NEA 15%; local 12%; and county 3%.  We used the 12% figure to back into the $185 amount for local dues and the 3% figure for county dues, both of which vary across the state.