Boston Teachers Union Endorses Brookline Rep. Tommy Vitolo

BROOKLINE, MA — The Boston Teachers Union (BTU), a union that represents more than 10,000 public school teachers, has voted to endorse Tommy Vitolo for re-election to the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

Vitolo was also endorsed by the BTU in his previous two successful campaigns for state representative in 2018 and 2020.

“Tommy is a true friend to public school teachers, parents, and students,” Alix Leeser Fishman, a Boston Public Schools fourth grade teacher and Brookline parent, said in a statement. “He stands up for labor and puts his money where his mouth is. He has delivered increased funding for our schools all over Massachusetts from passing the Student Opportunity Act to fighting for every override locally. As a teacher and a parent, I’m proud to support Tommy’s re-election.”

A two-term state representative, Vitolo has been a strong advocate for organized labor. Following the Janus vs. AFSCME Supreme Court decision, he joined colleagues in passing the Post-Janus bill over the Governor's veto in order to allow labor unions to align union fees and union duties toward employees.

In addition, Vitolo has joined picket lines and demonstrations with several unions in Brookline, including carpenters with Carpenters Local 328, Stop & Shop employees with UFCW 1445, educators with Brookline Educators Union, and baristas with Pavement UNITED and Starbucks Workers United.

Most recently, Vitolo spoke up for the proper employee classification of drivers for companies like Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash at Brookline's Town Meeting.

"I am honored and grateful that the BTU has endorsed my candidacy again,” Vitolo said in a statement. "Public education and unions have been critical in lifting families from poverty and in reducing inequities in society. My history of union support isn't empty rhetoric - it's the action of my votes in support of working families and my showing up to join the ranks.”

BTU is the largest union to endorse in the race to represent the 15th Norfolk and, Vitolo hinted, not the only one that will endorse his candidacy.

In addition to the Boston Teachers Union, Vitolo has also been endorsed by 80 percent of the Select Board, 80 percent of all town-wide elected officials including all elected chairs, and 75 percent of Town Meeting Members.

He has also been endorsed by former Governor Mike Dukakis, philanthropist Chobee Hoy, Senior Center Board of Directors President Betsy Pollock, Climate Action Brookline Co-chairs Susan Martin and John Harris, over two dozen former Select Board and School Committee Members, three former Brookline State Representatives, four former Brookline principals, Brookline PAX, and the Environmental League of Massachusetts.