Seattle teachers set for high-stakes strike vote tonight as school year looms

Members of the Seattle Education Association (SEA), representing approximately 6,000 teachers, counselors, and staff, are slated to vote Wednesday evening to either ratify a tentative contract agreement or authorize a strike. A potential walkout could begin on the first day of school, September 2, disrupting classes for nearly 50,000 students across Seattle Public Schools (SPS). Key unresolved issues in negotiations, ongoing since June, include compensation, special education support, class sizes, workloads, and 'pressurization,' against the backdrop of an $87 million budget shortfall.