NAVI Criticizes 2-Day Activist Conference at Chicago Teachers Union Headquarters
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 18
NAVI Criticizes 2-Day Activist Conference at Chicago Teachers Union Headquarters
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 18
Summary
Josh Weiner of the North American Values Institute said a two-day conference held at Chicago Teachers Union headquarters showed priorities "far removed from the classroom" and risked pushing extreme politics into education.
Workshops listed by the Anti-War Action Network covered protest and media tactics, tracking weapons shipments, fundraising and labor outreach, while resolutions backed ending U.S. aid to Israel, BDS campaigns and support for Iranian sovereignty.
CTU was not listed as an official sponsor, but the venue displayed union signage and a CTU T-shirt mannequin; Weiner said that distance was intentional even as the union moved in the same activist circles.
Speakers and room names tied the event to socialist and pro-Palestinian causes, including figures such as Fidel Castro and Nicolás Maduro, reinforcing Weiner's claim that political organizing was eclipsing classroom instruction.
Weiner said the approach already surfaced in CTU's April "social justice" curriculum work with the National Education Association and warned the same model could spread to other cities.