CLEVELAND– The Cleveland Teachers Union issued notice on Tuesday that it intends to strike starting at Sept. 1 at 6 p.m.
The Cleveland Teachers Union Executive Board unanimously voted to strike. This comes one day after the first of class for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.
The school system’s contract with teachers expired on June 30. Contract disputes involved several issues, including pay and teacher evaluations.
“It is unfortunate that after 11 months of negotiating that we do not have a contact. We seek a contract that addresses the many concerns our educators have voiced over the broken promises of the last three years,” Cleveland Teachers Union President David J. Quolke said in a news release Tuesday morning. “All throughout this process, CTU has fought for a contract that is good for kids and fair for educators and we will not take a contract back to the membership that does not meet that standard.”
Members of the teachers union voted to authorize a call to strike in May.
In a statement on Monday, CMSD said it’s preparing so the strike has minimal impact on its 39,000 students.
“Over the last two weeks – Cleveland teachers, paraprofessionals, and related service providers greeted Cleveland’s kids and enthusiastically began a new school year. That is why issuing a notice to strike is not an easy thing to do. It is our hope that the CMSD and the Mayor will commit to using the next two weeks to resolve the contract. It is essential that we invest in our schools and in our students, and we provide more, not fewer opportunities for students; and it is essential that we settle this contract and begin working to pass the Cleveland school levy,” Quolke said.