The Chicago Teachers Union is the epicenter for politics over its members and students
If you want to understand why teachers across America are walking away from union leadership, look no further than Chicago.
Over the weekend, the Chicago Teachers Union and their network of liberal activists helped promote a rally in downtown Chicago calling for the United States to keep its “Hands Off Iran & Lebanon.” Think about that for a moment. A teachers’ union, an organization that claims to represent educators and students, is entangled in protests over Middle East geopolitics.
This is exactly the problem.
For years, union leaders have insisted they speak for teachers. When in reality, they’ve spent more time behaving like political activists than advocates for educators or students. And students have paid the price. From national politics to foreign policy demonstrations, union leadership has embedded itself deeply into ideological movements that have nothing to do with teaching a child how to read, write, or think critically.
Parents see it. And now teachers are rejecting it.
Across the country, educators are asking a simple question: Why are the organizations claiming to represent us obsessed with everything except the classroom?
That question is one of the reasons the Teacher Freedom Alliance just surpassed 10,000 members nationwide. TFA is the only national movement dedicated to mobilizing educators who believe teaching should be about students, knowledge, and the future of our country — not partisan activism or international protest movements.
The growth of our movement sends a clear signal. Teachers are tired of sending their money to an entity that is just going to treat them as political pawns.
Union leadership has spent decades building a political machine funded in part by teachers’ dues and taxpayer-supported systems. Instead of supporting educators in the classroom, they have used that influence to advance ideological campaigns, bankroll political activism, and insert themselves into causes far removed from education.
Chicago is simply the latest and most visible example.
When teachers see their unions promoting protests about Iran or Lebanon, it reinforces what many educators already feel: That union leadership has lost the plot. Teachers didn’t enter the profession to become activists for global political causes. They entered the profession to educate the next generation of Americans.
And that’s why more teachers are quietly stepping away.
They are choosing professional communities that respect their role as educators instead of using them as foot soldiers in an anti-Trump political movement. They are looking for organizations that defend their First Amendment rights, support excellence in the classroom, and put students first.
That shift is happening faster than many people realize
Ten thousand teachers joining the Teacher Freedom Alliance is not just a milestone for one organization — it’s a warning sign for the union establishment. The more unions prioritize ideological activism, the more educators will look for alternatives.
Teachers want to teach
They want to inspire students, strengthen communities, and help develop free, moral, and upright citizens. They do not want to spend their careers represented by organizations that seem more interested in political theater than educational excellence.
If union leaders refuse to recognize that reality, they shouldn’t be surprised when teachers start walking away and taking their profession back with them.
Ryan Walters is the CEO of the Teacher Freedom Alliance and former Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
