Teacher Strike Begins in Chicago, Amid Signs That Deal Isn’t Close
Source: New York Times
CHICAGO Teachers in the nations third-largest school district went on strike Monday morning after negotiations for a new contract collapsed, giving some 350,000 students an unexpected day off but leading to frustrations among parents and indications that a settlement may not be close.
Chicago Public Schools and the union representing teachers have been embroiled for months in a bitter dispute over wages, job security and teacher evaluations.
Coming as the school year is in only its second week after the summer break, the strike will affect hundreds of thousands of families, some of whom spent the weekend scrambling to rearrange work schedules, find alternative programs and hire baby sitters if school is out for some time.
At Lane Tech College Prep, on the citys North Side, most of the high schools 250 teachers had already assembled by early Monday morning as they prepared to staff picket lines. They wore red union T-shirts and carried signs saying Honk If You Love a Teacher. Many passing motorists responded with incessant horn blowing.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/11/education/teacher-strike-begins-in-chicago-amid-signs-that-deal-isnt-close.html?_r=1&hp
Saw a couple LBN threads about an impending strike, but none in LBN that reported the strike as officially on. Apologies if I'm duplicating efforts.