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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Chicago teachers to strike over contract, budget

Sara Burnett Associated Press

CHICAGO – Thousands of Chicago teachers plan to walk off the job for one day on Friday, shutting down schools in the nation’s third-largest district.

The walkout could be an early glimpse of a prolonged strike still to come.

Some 27,000 Chicago Teachers Union members have worked without a contract since June. They’ve overwhelmingly authorized an open-ended strike like the one that closed schools for more than a week in 2012. That would still be weeks away.

The union says it wants to draw attention to its fight for a new contract and better funding for a district “on the verge of financial collapse.”

They also want to demonstrate the political might of the union and its allies. They blame Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner for the budget crisis.