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After talks break off, Denver teachers set to strike Monday

Posted at 10:20 PM, Feb 09, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-10 00:20:31-05

Denver teachers will strike on Monday after negotiations with Denver Public Schools fell through, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association said Saturday.

The parties had been negotiating for 14 months to overhaul the district’s compensation system, which the union said is tied to the city’s teacher turnover rate. The union said teacher pay varies from year to year, because the district’s pay system uses unpredictable bonuses to compensate for low base pay.

“The district spent the last few weeks saying it heard what teachers were saying, yet when given the opportunity tonight to avert a strike with a transparent, competitive proposal, DPS made the situation worse and the strike inevitable,” the association said in a statement.

Last month, 93% of the union’s nearly 3,000 members voted to strike after negotiations with the school district failed.

At the time, the school district said it was “committed to doing everything in our power to prevent a strike.”

This strike will be the first Denver teachers’ strike since 1994.