Death Bed CTU President Karen "Slims" Lewis - The Chicago Teachers Union announced Monday that 96.5 percent of those casting ballots last week voted to STRIKE

Nearly every one of the thousands of Chicago teachers who cast ballots last week to determine whether they could go on strike voted to do so, blowing past a 75 percent approval mandated by the state.

The Chicago Teachers Union announced Monday that 96.5 percent of those casting ballots last week voted to back the strike. With nearly 92 percent of members voting, that means about 88 percent of all members support a strike should ongoing contract negotiations fail, according to CTU vice president Jesse Sharkey, who described the results as “overwhelming.”

That’s a shade lower than in 2012 when 89.7 percent of all CTU members voted to strike before walking out for seven school days.

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