Catherwood LibraryILR School

The Detroit Federation of Teachers voted Sunday against a two-year contract proposal that included pay and benefit cuts and agreed to a strike that will put teachers on the picket lines in front of schools starting today. Many teachers said they would accept a pay freeze, but considering the amount of crime in schools and bureaucratic mismanagement they say they put up with, they would not entertain the 5.5% pay cut the school district proposed. The union wants a three-year contract with 5% pay increases each year.