Contract deal ends teachers strike in Tacoma, Washington

Union leaders for 1,900 striking teachers in Tacoma, Washington, reached a tentative contract deal on Wednesday night with school district officials in talks mediated by the state’s governor, ending the walkout after more than a week, Reuters reports. The settlement, which the teachers must still ratify, was announced by Governor Christine Gregoire shortly before 10:30 p.m. local time from her office in the state capital, Olympia, where she had summoned the parties for a last-ditch round of bargaining about seven hours earlier…

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Wash. teachers maintain strike despite judge order

Students in Washington state’s third-largest school district are taking a fourth straight day off Friday as opposing sides in a teachers strike meet with a judge, after the instructors defied his order to return to the classroom, the Associated Press reports. The Tacoma School District teachers walked out Tuesday over issues including pay, class size and how job transfers are handled. A state judge issued an order Wednesday that they go back to class, but the teachers refused…

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District wants Wash. teachers ordered back to work

Leaders of Washington state’s third-largest school district are asking a judge to order hundreds of striking teachers back to work as thousands of students spend a second day out of class, the Associated Press reports. A Superior Court hearing has been scheduled Wednesday on the Tacoma School District’s request for an injunction to order nearly 1,900 teachers back to work. The district contends that public employees cannot legally strike under state law. Tacoma Education Association spokesman Rich Wood says union lawyers will be ready with a response…

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