UPDATE 5-Chicago teachers' union, mayor reach deal to end 11-day strike

Chicago teachers will end their 11-day strike against the third-largest U.S. school system after their union and district officials reached a tentative settlement on Thursday of a labor battle that canceled classes for 300,000 students. The strike was the second-longest in a wave of teachers' strikes that played out across West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona and California over the past few years, topped only by a three-week June strike in Union City, California.

Like the earlier walk-outs, Chicago teachers had pushed for more money to ease overcrowded classrooms and to add more nurses, social workers and teaching aides, in addition to seeking a wage increase for the district's 25,000 teachers. A tentative deal reached late on Wednesday fell apart when the two sides disagreed over how many missed school days for students - and days of pay for teachers - would be tacked onto the end of the school year. The agreement reached on Thursday calls for five, less than the 11 the union had sought, the union said.

No further details were immediately available on the deal. It was an early test of first-term Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who campaigned on improving the city's schools but said the school district could not afford the sharp increases in spending on counselors and nurses that teachers sought.

"This fight is about black children and brown children in the city of Chicago getting the resources in their school community that they have been deprived of for generations," union Vice President Stacy Davis Gates said during a news conference after the announcement. Crowds of red T-shirted teachers took to Chicago's streets during the strike's two weeks, picketing some of the 500 schools across the city and holding rallies and marches in downtown Chicago.

Democratic presidential contender U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren on Oct. 22 joined the striking teachers on the picket line, and strikers also joined in protests against Republican President Donald Trump during his visit on Monday to Chicago. The work stoppage forced officials to cancel classes, but school buildings stayed open for children in need of a place to go during the strike.

The strike angered parents and students, particularly the families of student athletes, as the walkout coincided with state-wide play-offs, which teams have competed for months to attend, and where college talent scouts look for candidates for athletic scholarships. "It was important to me that we got our kids back in class. Enough is enough," Lightfoot said during a news briefing. "I think it was the right thing for out city and I am glad this phase is over."

The strike came 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 failure to stabilize the school system's finances.

Also Read: UPDATE 4-Classes canceled in Chicago public schools as teachers inch closer to strike