Chicago Teachers Union Urges May 1 School Shutdown for Anti‑Trump ‘Civic Action’ Day
The Chicago Teachers Union has approved a resolution calling for May 1, 2026 to be a day of “Civic Action and Defense of Public Education” with “No Work, No School, and No Shopping,” urging teachers and students to skip classes and normal activities to protest what it calls an unprecedented national assault on public education by “MAGA politicians,” billionaire donors and corporate interests aligned with President Donald Trump. The union says the day should be spent on voter registration, “know your rights” sessions, mutual aid work and “mass resistance training,” and is asking Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Board of Education to back the plan, including using an Illinois law that allows excused absences for civic events. CTU Vice President Jackson Potter framed the move as necessary “if we still want to have democracy in the midterms this November,” accusing Trump of acting as an “authoritarian billionaire in Washington” and linking the action to opposition to school privatization, book bans, attacks on civil‑rights protections and immigration enforcement by ICE. The resolution explicitly supports keeping ICE out of cities and calls for taxing the rich, tying local school activism to broader national fights over immigration and economic policy. Johnson called May Day an “important demonstration of collective power” but told Fox News Digital that participation will be up to individual families and pledged to work with Chicago Public Schools to avoid loss of instruction time, highlighting early tensions over how far the city will go in endorsing a politically charged, school‑day shutdown.
📌 Key Facts
- The Chicago Teachers Union approved a resolution declaring May 1, 2026 a day of “Civic Action and Defense of Public Education” and urging “No Work, No School, and No Shopping.”
- CTU claims public education is under attack from “MAGA politicians,” billionaire donors and corporate interests aligned with President Trump and links the action to opposition to school privatization, book bans, civil‑rights rollbacks and ICE enforcement.
- The union wants the day used for civic education, mutual aid, voter registration, “know your rights” sessions and “mass resistance training,” and is asking Mayor Brandon Johnson and the school board to recognize the day using Illinois’ civic‑event excused‑absence law.
- Mayor Brandon Johnson called May Day an important show of collective power but said each family must decide whether to participate and vowed to work with CPS to avoid loss of instruction time.
📊 Relevant Data
In Chicago Public Schools, students are 47% Hispanic, 35% Black, 11% White, and 4.5% Asian American, with the vast majority being students of color.
Explaining Chicago Public Schools: The students — Chalkbeat
Chicago Public Schools teachers are 44.4% White, 25.7% Hispanic/Latinx, 20.7% Black/African-American, and 5.2% Asian, showing a mismatch with the student body where only 11% are White.
Stats and Facts — Chicago Public Schools
In Chicago Public Schools, Black students have proficiency rates of 34% in reading and 16% in math for grades 3-8, compared to higher rates for White students, contributing to achievement gaps.
Scores down, absences up for Chicago low-income, minority students — Illinois Policy Institute
Chicago's immigrant population reached nearly 600,000 in 2024, the highest since 2006, with significant growth in Hispanic and Asian communities, while Black and White populations have declined.
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 ended national origins quotas, leading to increased immigration from Latin America and Asia, which has contributed to demographic changes such as the Hispanic population rising from 4% to 18% and Asian from 1% to 6% nationally by 2015, with ongoing impacts in cities like Chicago.
How the Immigration Act of 1965 Changed the Face of America — History.com
Charter schools have contributed to increased racial segregation in schools, with analysis showing segregation would be approximately 14% lower without their expansion.
New Data Shows Charter Schools Increase Segregation — The Progressive
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