Chicago Teachers Picket Board Of Education, Hold 'Practice Strikes' (VIDEO)
Posted: 08/23/2012 11:15 am Updated: 08/23/2012 11:59 am
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Members of the Chicago Teachers Union hold an informational picket outside Willa Cather Elementary School, calling attention to ongoing contract talks with the Board of Education on Monday, Aug. 20, 2012 in Chicago. The union says it is still trying to reach an agreement on wages, health benefits, and job security. (AP Photo/Sitthixay Ditthavong)
Exactly one week after the first crop of Chicago Public School students started classes, members and supporters of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) took to the streets with picket signs.
The union has been embroiled in a months-long standoff with the school district and the city over stalled contract negotiations, and a longer school day they say was implemented without necessary input from teachers.
CTU President Karen Lewis has been threatening the school board with a strike.
"At this point we need to understand where people are emotionally and where they are in terms of how they feel about the situation at hand, and what they know,"