We showed up. Now the work continues.

Admin

04 May 2026 • 4 min read

Last Friday, No Kings Westfield stood out in Park Square and then joined thousands in the streets of Holyoke for May Day.

The rally and march in Holyoke was led by the Holyoke Teachers Association, who have now been working without a contract for over 300 days. Their fight is not abstract. Holyoke sees a 25 to 30 percent teacher turnover rate every year — new teachers getting experience and leaving for districts with better pay and conditions, leaving students in a revolving door of instability. That is what we marched for.

Something is waking up in this valley. Sleepy union locals are making their demands known. Workers who were told to wait, to be patient, to trust the process — are done waiting. The Holyoke Teachers Association showed up on May Day not just as a labor union but as a community institution saying: our students deserve better, our teachers deserve better, and we are not going away. That energy was in the streets. You could feel it.

And yet we are told there is no money. No money for contracts. No money for healthcare. No money for childcare or early education. No money to keep experienced teachers in Holyoke's classrooms.

But we found money for a war. We found it fast, without a vote, without debate, without asking any of us. The same government that tells teachers there is no money in the budget just launched military operations against Iran and is maintaining a naval blockade that has no end date and no authorization from Congress. We can apparently afford all of that. What we cannot seem to afford is a living wage for the people teaching our children.

On war

Last week, Trump sent letters to Congress declaring that hostilities with Iran have "terminated" — and therefore he doesn't need congressional authorization, even though the War Powers Act required him to seek it after 60 days of military conflict. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said it plainly: "There's no pause button in the Constitution, or the War Powers Act. We're at war. We've been at war for 60 days. The blockade alone is a continuing act of war."

A ceasefire is not peace. A blockade is an act of war. And a president who decides unilaterally when a war starts and when it ends — without Congress, without the people — is not operating within the bounds of a democracy. Congress has the power to rein this in. Most of them are choosing not to use it.

This is the same pattern we are seeing with Cuba, with Iran, with every country this administration has decided to pressure, sanction, or bomb without a vote. We demand that our representatives do their jobs.

What's next for No Kings Westfield

The Massachusetts primary is September 1st. The midterms are November 3rd. Between now and then, we will be in the streets, at the doors, and in conversation with our neighbors about what is actually at stake. Voter registration, voter outreach, and making sure every person in Westfield knows when and how to vote. The people trying to dismantle this democracy are counting on exhaustion and low turnout. We are counting on each other.

https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/elections/recent-updates/upcoming-elections.htm

This July 4th marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. We want to take that seriously. Not as a celebration of a mythology, but as a rededication to the actual words — that all people are created equal, that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and that when a government becomes destructive of those ends, it is the right of the people to alter it.

A president who starts wars without Congress, dismantles voting rights, weaponizes federal agencies against political opponents, and declares emergencies to bypass the law is not governing by consent. He is ruling by force and fear.

The Declaration was written as an indictment — a list of crimes committed by a king against a people. It is worth reading again right now.

Westfield's leadership re-committed our city to the values of the Declaration of Independence. Stay tuned to see how we can all join together to hold them, and ourselves, accountable to that commitment.
https://www.masslive.com/westfieldnews/2026/01/former-westfield-solicitor-asks-city-council-to-recommit-to-the-values-of-the-nations-founders.html

More details on both initiatives coming soon. If you want to be involved in voter registration or the 250th actions, reach out at [email protected].

Coming up — get involved with Whalen for Congress

Jeromie Whalen is running to represent MA-01 without a dime of corporate money, on a working class platform. Two chances to plug in this weekend:

Saturday, May 9 | 6–9 PM Bands for Jeromie Whalen — Fundraiser & Voter Registration Drive Bright Ideas Brewing, 109 Apremont Way, Westfield Local bands, good people, grassroots energy.

Sunday, May 10 | 12–3 PM — Mother's Day Westfield Community Canvass with Team Whalen Westfield, MA Bring your mom, your comfortable shoes, and your neighbors. No experience needed.

Face-to-face conversations are how this movement grows. Show up this weekend.

In solidarity,

No Kings Westfield [email protected]

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