Parents, teachers, and union leaders in Seattle are encouraging other working Americans to cancel their subscriptions to the Seattle Times. They are slamming the anti-union publication for its one-sided coverage of the teacher strikes and anti public school/pro charter school stance. Teachers went on strike September 9—the first day of school in Seattle—for the first time in 30 years. The school board had rejected most of the Seattle Education Association’s proposals centered on competitive pay, reasonable testing, guaranteed recess, student equity, and workloads. The work stoppage was suspended September 15, when the teachers were presented with a tentative agreement that addresses every one of these priority issues identified by SEA members last spring.

“This is a hard-fought victory for the kids of Seattle, and I am proud of SEA members and our incredible bargaining team,” says Jonathan Knapp, SEA president. “This agreement signals a new era in bargaining in public education. We’ve negotiated a pro-student, pro-parent, pro-educator agreement. We really appreciate the strong support from parents and students.”