Strike plans unclear, Little Rock teachers hold ‘walk-ins’

By ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Little Rock teachers are staging demonstrations over Arkansas stripping their collective bargaining power and the state's ongoing control of the district. But they're offering few clues on whether they'll strike for the first time in decades.

Teachers, parents and students held "walk-ins" around the 23,000-student district Wednesday, walking into school buildings together before classes started to show their support for the union. They're part of a series of actions union leaders have planned after the state Board of Education's decision to strip its collective bargaining power.

The union's contract with the district expired on Thursday.

The head of the union says it hasn’t ruled out a strike , which would be the first in the district since 1987. Arkansas has been in control of Little Rock’s schools for nearly five years.