Chicago teachers strike ends, classes to resume
Xinhua
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Members of the Chicago Teachers Union House of Delegates hold a press conference after members turned down the district's latest offer, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019 in Chicago. (Photo: AP)

CHICAGO, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Chicago teachers will return to work after the city and Chicago Teachers Union announced a comprise on Thursday, ending a 15-day strike in America's third largest school district that left more than 300,000 students out of classes, according to local media.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Chicago Public School and union leaders announced the deal on Thursday afternoon. "In the interest of our students and our parents who have been suffering, it was important to me to make sure we got our kids back in class," Lightfoot said.

The union's delegates approved a tentative deal late Wednesday night. But the union then asked the city to compensate teachers for the time they've been on strike and they want to be paid for those days before ending the strike.

The union said on Thursday that Chicago Public Schools will make up five days of student instruction.

According to report, CPS's offer to the teachers includes a 16 percent pay raise over five years and 35 million US dollars to reduce class sizes, which is 10 million dollars more than earlier offers. The city is offering 209 additional social workers by 2023 and 250 additional nurses, which would put one in every CPS school.