More teacher strikes looming in Seattle, Spokane



SEATTLE (AP) — As Pasco teachers walked the picket lines for a second day on Wednesday, a series of marathon contract negotiations in Spokane maybe be moving school employees closer to an agreement while Seattle teachers are heading toward a strike vote on Thursday.

No more negotiation session have been scheduled in advance of Thursday's Seattle Education Association meeting at Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle.

Teachers have already gone back to school in the state's largest school district, but Seattle's nearly 53,000 students aren't due to arrive until next Wednesday.

A spokesman for the statewide Washington Education Association says union and district bargainers have scheduled a Friday meeting with a state mediator. So even if Seattle teachers vote to strike on Thursday, they still could reach an agreement before a walkout affects the state of school.