By James Vaznis

US Senator Ed Markey is locking up the support of the state’s teacher unions as he fends off a challenge for re-election from US Representative Seth Moulton.

The Massachusetts Teachers Association, the state’s largest teachers union with more than 117,000 members in public schools and colleges, announced Thursday it has officially endorsed Markey.

Their announcement comes one month after the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts, which represents 25,000 public school educators across Massachusetts, declared their support for Markey.

MTA leaders praised Markey for his longtime support of public education and labor rights, especially in fighting President Trump’s efforts to slash federal funding for public education and for opposing Linda McMahon‘s nomination for US Education Secretary, which she eventually secured.

“In a time when the Trump administration is attacking public education and trying to strip away union rights, we could ask for no better champion than Ed Markey to stand with us in protecting the values that are important to our members and to the families of Massachusetts,” Max Page, the union’s president, said in a statement.

The endorsement from both unions should provide Markey with potential access to scores of grassroots campaign volunteers as he fights to keep the seat he has held since 2013. The endorsements can also provide guidance to rank-and-file union members about who to cast their votes for.

Whether the endorsements could ultimately affect the outcome of the race remains unclear, but the unions have been formidable forces in other elections. The MTA, for instance, launched a successful ballot question, approved by voters in 2024, that ended a state requirement for high school students to pass MCAS exams in order to graduate.

The race between Markey and Moulton is expected to be competitive as the two Democrats face off in September’s primary. Markey holds the lead in early public polling, but Moulton is outpacing Markey in fundraising. Since Moulton declared his candidacy in October, he has raised over $2 million, while Markey has brought in about $780,000 during the same time period, the Globe reported this week.

Moulton has just over $3 million in his campaign coffers heading into this year’s election, compared to about $2.7 million for Markey, the Globe reported.

A third candidate, Alex Rikleen, a former teacher, is also challenging Markey for his seat in the Democratic primary.

The MTA, in endorsing Markey, also cited other aspects of his record in Washington that resonated with the group, including his support of the Social Security Fairness Act, which restored full benefits to nearly three million retired public school educators nationwide; introducing legislation that would guarantee fair wages for education support personnel in public schools, such as classroom aides; defending the rights of immigrant students; and authoring and championing legislation to remove lead, asbestos, and other toxic substances from public school buildings.

Markey said he was honored to receive the MTA’s endorsement.

“MTA educators are on the front lines every day, fighting to make sure every student — no matter their ZIP code — gets the world-class public education Massachusetts is known for,“ Markey said in a statement. “That fight — for students, for fairness, and for dignity on the job — is my fight too, and I will continue to stand with public education workers in the Senate every step of the way.”

VIEW ORIGINAL ARTICLE AND VIDEO HERE: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/01/08/metro/senator-ed-markey-endorsements-teacher-unions/