Massachusetts Teachers Association endorses Jeromie Whalen for Congress
The Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA), a statewide union representing 117,000 members across 400 local chapters from Pittsfield to Provincetown, is endorsing public school teacher Jeromie Whalen, who is challenging longtime U.S. Rep. Richard Neal to represent the people of the 1st Congressional District of Massachusetts.
“The Massachusetts Teachers Association enthusiastically recommends Jeromie Whalen to be the U.S. Representative for the state’s 1st Congressional District,” MTA President Matt Bach said in a statement. “Jeromie is a career educator and community activist who understands how government can better serve working people and families. Jeromie shows up when people are fighting for fair and just working conditions or defending their rights. That’s the kind of leadership and advocacy we need in Washington D.C.”
“Being a teacher means never giving up on the responsibility to guide the next generation,” Whalen said in a statement. “We show up every day, building small moments of knowledge, compassion and understanding that add up to something bigger. This endorsement means everything to me because it recognizes why I became a teacher in the first place. It’s validation of the work educators do every day, and a reminder of the trust and responsibility that comes with it: to lift others up so they can do the same for those around them.”
MTA members include teachers, faculty, professional staff and education support professionals working in public schools, colleges and universities statewide.
Whalen grew up in Belchertown, built a life with his wife in South Hadley and most recently earned his Ph.D. in mathematics, science and learning technologies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He has spent more than a decade teaching high school in the Pioneer Valley as a communications and media production teacher.