Sanders gets early endorsement by VT teachers

Usually when presidential campaign seasons roll around, the largest union in Vermont tarries until after the primary season to make an endorsement.

This is not most years.

"We've never had Bernie running for president," said Martha Allen, president of the Vermont chapter of the National Education Association. The teachers union announced Wednesday that its board has endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in his Democratic presidential bid.

Sanders responded in a statement by saying he was honored to have the backing of "real American heroes."

The union will start contacting members who live across the border in New Hampshire and encouraging them to volunteer, Allen said.

And next week, the Vermont delegation to a national NEA meeting will wear Sanders campaign T-shirts one day, she said.

Financial support for the campaign will be discussed later, said Vermont-NEA spokesman Darren Allen.

"We are not used to getting involved in presidential primaries particularly early," the spokesman said.

The union has supported Sanders for years and agrees with his ideas on public education, student debt and economic inequality, according to a news release.

"It shouldn't be a surprise that this union is heartily behind Bernie's message," Darren Allen said.

The union's counterpart in New Hampshire, home of the earliest presidential primaries, has yet to make a recommendation on candidates, Martha Allen said.

This story was first published on June 24, 2015. Contact April Burbank at 802-660-1863 or aburbank@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AprilBurbank