Brendan O’brien

CHICAGO (Reuters) – a strike by Chicago public school teachers told some boardwalk negotiators on Friday in a contract dispute focused on reducing class sizes and other issues that will benefit students.

In addition to raising wages, the Union highlighted teachers ‘ demands for more money to ease overcrowding in classrooms and increase the number of nurses, social workers and teaching assistants.

On the second day of the strike, the two sides focused talks on three Union demands: more time to prepare for special education, more special education managers and teachers, and more bilingual education support staff, Union Spokesman Chris giovanis told Chicago Teachers.

“We’ve seen some movement, but it’s not enough,” Union chief of staff Jennifer Johnson told reporters, adding that Chicago public schools (CPS) submitted a counter-proposal for staffing levels on Friday.

Sticking points in the negotiations included the needs of homeless students, paying for veteran teachers, and paying for low-paid employees such as teacher assistants, Johnson said.

The deal was due to resume at 13: 00 on Saturday and continue on Sunday, Union President Jesse Sharkey said.

Officials with the CPS were not immediately available for comment on Friday’s talks.

The shutdown forced officials to cancel classes for more than 300,000 students, but school buildings remained open for children needing a place to go during the strike.

“I feel very hopeful about the support I’ve seen across the city,” says Suzanne van Kersen, who teaches English as a second language, as she picketed outside Mather high school on the city’s North side.

“The mayor seems very stubborn,” she added, ” so I’m not encouraged that it’s going to be any time soon.”

The strike, involving 25,000 teachers, is the latest in a recent wave of work stoppages in school districts across the United States, in which demand for school resources has supplanted calls for higher wages and benefits.

That emphasis resonates with many Chicago parents, but even so, the strike has put some of them in a childcare bind.

Daniel Perez, a 43-year-old project Manager, had to bring his two elementary school children to work at a construction site on the South side on Friday.

The strike comes seven years after Chicago teachers walked out for seven days over teacher evaluations and hiring practices. In 2016, teachers staged a one-day walkout to protest the lack of a contract and the failure to stabilize the school system’s finances.

The district has proposed a 16% increase for teachers over five years, mandatory goals for reducing class sizes and adding support staff throughout the district, according to mayor Laurie Lightfoot, who was elected in April.

Lightfoot previously said the Union’s full list of demands would cost the district an additional $ 2.5 billion a year.

Wall street credit rating Agency Moody’s Investors Service, which rates the district’s debt at junk levels, said Thursday the outcome of labor talks would have “significant implications on whether CPS’ financial recovery continues given its limited financial flexibility and narrow reserves.”

(Reporting by Brendan O’brien in Chicago; Additional reporting by Kyle Coward and Andrew hay; Editing by Frank Mcgurty, Cynthia Osterman and Daniel Wallis)