OAKLAND TEACHERS TO GO ON STRIKE

OAKLAND, California: Oakland teachers say they would strike starting Thursday. The union representing the 3,000 teachers announced the walkout Saturday, making it the latest in a wave of educator activism that has swept the US since last spring. The union wants smaller class sizes, more counselors and full-time nurses, and a 12-percent raise over three years. The district has offered 5 percent and says it is squeezed by rising costs. The action comes a day after the sides received compromise recommendations in a fact-finding report. Oakland Unified School District Superintendent Kyla Johnson Trammell said Friday she was pleased with the recommendations and hoped it would coax the union back to negotiations.