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The Chicago Teachers Union on Monday delivered the city a message that educators are prepared to walk off the job for the second time since 2012 if an agreement can't be reached on a new contract. The union said 88 percent of its 24,752 eligible members voted "Yes" to authorize union leaders to call a strike, well above the 75 percent threshold necessary for a strike to occur. The contract reached following the 2012 strike expired June 30, and the two sides have been negotiating for more than a year, yet remain far apart on a number of issues. Union officials say the district has asked for a contract that would amount to $653 million in cuts. The district says the union's demands would cost well over $1 billion a year and require hiring new school nurses, psychologists and social workers, counselors and case managers, as well as 5, 000 teachers to accommodate a union demand to shrink classroom sizes. Union demands also include a 3 percent salary increase and pay for snow days.