The Chicago Teachers Union was lambasted for a tweet that said it was “completely in support” of protesters who constructed a mock guillotine outside of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezo’s home. The bizarre tweet was especially perplexing because the Chicago Teachers Union owns tens of millions in Amazon stock.
On Wednesday, Bezos became the first person in history to have a fortune of $200 billion after Amazon stock continued its historic rise. However, not everyone was impressed with the Amazon founder’s net worth. On Thursday, protesters gathered outside his home in Washington, D.C. Some demonstrators were Amazon employees, who were demanding a $30-per-hour minimum wage, according to the Washington Examiner.
The demonstration took a dark turn when protesters constructed a mock guillotine outside of the home of Bezos. The guillotine is a symbol of rebellion, first made infamous when used for public beheadings of nobility and the elite during the bloody French Revolution, including King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette.
The official Twitter account for the Chicago Teachers Union that represents 28,000 members shared a video of the guillotine being constructed outside of Bezos’ home with the caption: “We are completely frightened by, completely impressed by and completely in support of wherever this is headed. #Solidarity.”
We are completely frightened by, completely impressed by and completely in support of wherever this is headed.… https://t.co/kQY3SkEWmY
— ChicagoTeachersUnion (@ChicagoTeachersUnion)1598564805.0
The morbid tweet was blasted by many on Twitter. BlazeTV’s Lauren Chen, who hosts “Pseudo-Intellectual,” responded with shock.
@CTULocal1 https://t.co/3F7FzUnb1C
— Lauren Chen (@Lauren Chen)1598672474.0
“As someone left of center living in Chicago area I add my voice to the idea this tweet supporting the direction of using guillotines is stupid, scary, dangerous, & wrong in every possible way,” a Twitter user replied. “Whomever posted this for CTU should immediately lose access to their Twitter account.”
“If you’re in Chicago, get your children out of public schools now,” another said.
“As a CTU member and a major critic of global wealth inequality, I am definitely not comfortable with this endorsement by the union,” an alleged member of the Chicago Teachers Union stated.
Numerous Twitter accounts referenced Maximilien Robespierre, the architect of the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution that killed approximately 17,000; many were executed by guillotines. Robespierre ended up suffering by the same fate and was executed by a guillotine in front of a cheering mob on the Place de la Révolution.
One of the most ironic responses to the Chicago Teachers Union was by Illinois Policy, an independent organization generating public policy solutions aimed at promoting personal freedom and prosperity in Illinois.”
“You and your members have profited significantly from Bezos’ hard work. As of the 2019 filing, @CTULocal1 pension held 45,754 shares of @amazon,” the org said.
The tweet linked to the 2019 annual financial report for the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund which showed that Chicago teachers financially benefited greatly from having Amazon stock. According to the financial report, the Amazon stock was worth $86,641,147 in 2019.
Chicago Teachers Union officials did not respond to an email from The Center Square about the pension fund’s investments or the controversial tweet.
Other teachers’ unions have been vocal supporters of far-left politics this summer. North Carolina’s Durham Association of Educators that called for sweeping social programs such as universal health care, welfare benefits for illegal immigrants, and a suspension of rents and mortgages. The 35,000-member United Teachers Los Angeles union demanded the defunding of police, the end of charter schools, and financial support of undocumented students and their families.