Karen Lewis

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  Chicago students return to class as strike ends

  By Sophia Tareen, Tammy Webber  |  September 19, 2012

  Chicago children returned to school on Wednesday after teachers ended a seven-day strike that disrupted the daily routines of thousands of families and made the city a flashpoint in the debate over union rights and efforts to overhaul the nation's public school system.

• Chicago teachers await strike vote

  By Sophia Tareen  |  September 18, 2012

  As they awaited a vote that could end Chicago's first teachers strike in 25 years, teachers were balancing their desire to get back to class with lingering doubts and questions about a proposed contract that could mean major changes to their pay and job security.

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  Emanuel insists court end teachers’ strike

  By Michael Tarm, Sophia Tareen  |  September 17, 2012

  Mayor Rahm Emanuel asked a state court Monday to force Chicago school teachers back to work and end a week-long strike he calls illegal.

• More progress reported in Chicago strike talks

  By JASON KEYSER and SOPHIA TAREEN, Associated Press  |  September 14, 2012

  More than 350,000 public school students spent a fifth day out of class Friday as bargaining to end the city's teachers strike dragged on ahead of a meeting of union delegates whose approval is required to seal any deal.

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  Chicago teachers strike for first time in 25 years

  By Don Babwin, Tammy Webber  |  September 10, 2012

  Thousands of teachers walked off the job Monday in Chicago's first schools strike in 25 years, after union leaders announced that months-long negotiations had failed to resolve a contract dispute with school district officials by a midnight deadline.

• Fact finder recommends raise for Chicago teachers

  By Don Babwin  |  July 17, 2012

  An independent fact finder has recommended that Chicago teachers receive a 14.85 percent raise to "compensate teachers for working a longer school day and year," a union official union said Monday.

• 90 percent of Chicago teachers authorize strike

  By Tammy Webber  |  June 12, 2012

  Teachers in the nation's third-largest school district voted overwhelmingly to authorize the first strike in 25 years if their union and the city cannot reach a deal on a contract this summer — signaling just how badly the relationship between teachers and Chicago school officials has deteriorated, union officials said...