On May 1, Frontlines TPUSA reporter Jonathan Choe covered Chicago’s May Day protests, which featured a variety of groups advocating for different civil causes. Among these groups was the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), who had come to an agreement with Chicago Public Schools to enable educators to participate in the protests.
According to the Chicago Sun Times, “Chicago Public Schools reached an agreement with the Chicago Teachers Union to make May 1, also known as International Workers’ Day, a districtwide day of civic engagement. Some students took field trips during the school day, while others got civics lessons at school.”
“Today, 120,000 Illinoisans will lose their SNAP benefits, a vital lifeline to provide nutrition for families and their children,” the CTU stated of its intention for protesting, mentioning the specific initiatives its community opposes from the federal government.
“This week, Trump’s Supreme Court, hoping to solidify the right wing’s hold on power across the country, gutted the Voting Rights Act,” the union continued. “That historic law paved the way for Black representation at all levels of government. And ICE agents are still snatching our neighbors off the streets, though, thanks to Chicago’s push back, not in the numbers we saw this fall, when our students and their families faced ICE assaults and human rights violations on a daily basis during Operation Midway Blitz.”
“If you go against the union, if you stand, they’re going to demonize you,” Dr. Rosita Chatonda told Choe, a former CTU representative who was “rubbed the wrong way” by the protests. She finds the union becoming more polarizing than it has ever been.
Frontlines captured protesters promoting anti-capitalist agendas, featuring communist and like-minded groups and non-profits looking to recruit new members. One educator was caught mocking the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
