Chicago Teachers Union Head Claims Union Owns Millions of Students

Stacy Davis Gates, president of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), publicly asserted that the union views all children as belonging to it, a stance she reiterated at a City Club of Chicago event. Gates declared, "The children are always ours. Every single one of them, all over the globe," and dismissed critics who challenge this perspective. She criticized President Donald Trump's efforts to dismantle the Department of Education, framing them as attacks on civil rights and blaming him for Chicago Public Schools' financial deficits. Despite these claims of ownership and stewardship, Chicago schools continue to suffer from severe academic underperformance, with many students not proficient in basic subjects like math and reading, and the district facing federal scrutiny over discriminatory policies. Gates also linked the union's role to broader community and social ideologies, emphasizing the union's influence over education and policy amid ongoing controversies around school funding and governance. These developments highlight a clash between teachers' unions' expansive claims over educational authority and persistent concerns about public school failures and parental rights.