Chicago teachers approve contract, avoid strike
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CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Public school teachers narrowly ratified a four-year contract, avoiding a strike that would have idled nearly 440,000 children in the nation's third-largest school district, union officials said Wednesday.
The new contract includes 4 percent base annual raises and improved health benefits. The teachers, members of the Chicago Teachers Union, have worked without a contract since July 1.
If the teachers had rejected the proposal, the union had authorized a strike starting December 4. It would have been the city's first teacher walkout in 16 years.
The vote was 15,104 for the contract to 12,599 opposed, union spokesman Jay Rehak said.
The teachers rejected an earlier five-year agreement that also included a 4 percent raise. A key reason that earlier contract was rejected was because of increases in health insurance premiums starting in July 2004. The new proposal freezes employee contributions in two of five plans.
