Chicago Teachers Union pushes kids to miss school for political rally, protest McDonald’s

The Chicago Teachers Union is encouraging students and staff to miss school for a political rally, which includes protests against McDonald’s restaurants and guacamole.

The Chicago Teachers Union is encouraging students to miss class to participate in political protests, which include boycotts against McDonald’s and guacamole.

CTU is organizing a multi-day protest from May 1-5, starting with a march on May 1. The union is not only encouraging teachers to take personal days to attend protests, but is actively promoting “field trips” during regular school hours.

The union is encouraging students to miss classes in a district in which fewer than 1-in-3 Chicago Public School students can read at grade level. The protest poster explicitly calls for boycotts of specific businesses, including Miller, McDonald’s, Target, Walmart and Goya. Here is the full agenda.

• May 1: March at 11 a.m. from Union Park to Grant Park (student field trip)
• May 2: Labor stop and massive absence during the school day
• May 3 and 4: Protest margaritas and guacamole
• May 5: Labor stop and massive absence during the school day

CTU isn’t alone: the Illinois Federation of Teachers and other teachers unions are supporting the event.

“While it is a school day, it will be a historic opportunity to celebrate our diverse school communities and protect our democracy,” CTU posted on its website, referring to the May 1 march.

This redirection of valuable classroom time comes at a critical moment for Chicago’s students. Every school day matters for students who are already falling behind academically. Rather than focusing on improving outcomes, the CTU appears more interested in using students as political props.

While the union claims students will “greatly benefit from seeing this level of advocacy,” is calling for boycotts and labor stoppages more valuable than classroom instruction for struggling students? Why is CTU qualified to judge employers that their students and communities need?

Cinco de Mayo would be better spent studying and enjoying the healthy, brain-feeding fat of an avocado – not being fed CTU’s dogma.