30,000 Teachers on Strike: Chicago

About 400,000 students couldn't go to school Monday morning in Chicago because teachers there are on strike as of late Sunday night. Chicago is the country's third largest school system employing some 30,000 teachers and staff, and all of them have joined the strike.

Thousands of the striking teachers, joined by protesting parents and schoolchildren, formed picket lines outside empty schools across the city amid stalemated contract talks between the school board and the teacher's union. This is the first strike for Chicago's teachers in 25 years and affects nearly 700 schools.The protesters held up placards reading, "On strike" and "Fair contract now!" Protesters shouted "What do we want?" and "When do we want?" and other protesters responded "Contract" and "Now." There's big concern about what kids will do if they're not in school. Many churches and community centers are letting them stay there. One mom told the Huffington Post last night... her fourth-grade daughter is going to a "strike camp."

The strike comes after negotiations between the teachers' union and the school board over salaries and teacher evaluations broke down. The protesters fear the standoff would result in more school closures in America's third largest city.

Source: News Agencies,  edited by moqawama.org