A two-day conference held at the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) headquarters featured socialist, anti-war, and pro-Palestinian activists, raising concerns about its relevance to classroom education. The event included workshops on protest and media tactics, engaging port workers, tracking weapons shipments, fundraising, coalition building, and strengthening ties with labor and community groups in Latin America and Africa.

North American Values Institute (NAVI) Chief Advocacy Officer Josh Weiner criticized the conference, stating, "I'm not sure that has much to do with empowering teachers in the classroom." He added, "We've seen the barriers and boundaries between this political activism and the classroom break down in a lot of different circumstances. Certainly, the classroom is not the priority. It's a political agenda that's very extreme."

The conference program listed groups such as the Palestinian Community Network, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Anti-War Action Network, Anti-War Committee Chicago, Chicago Alliance Against Racism and Political Repression, and the Committee to Stop FBI Repression as organizers. Resolutions passed at the event called for ending U.S. aid to Israel, supporting Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns, expanding pro-Palestinian activism, and described the Iranian government as "anti-imperialist," pledging support for Iranian sovereignty.

While CTU was not an official sponsor, the venue displayed union signage and a mannequin wearing a CTU T-shirt. NAVI also noted that CTU Vice President Jackson Potter and CORE, the union’s governing caucus, follow Anti-War Committee Chicago on Instagram.

Weiner emphasized the intended role of public education, saying, "Public education is meant to really teach foundational knowledge and formulate our future citizens of our country and to prepare students to be productive, happy, successful citizens within our country and our country is a democratic capitalist system, albeit imperfect, but it still is."

This conference follows earlier criticism of the Chicago Teachers Union for collaborating with the National Education Association on a "curriculum build" aimed at integrating "social justice into the classroom" ahead of May Day 2026.

Sources