By Brendan O’Brien

(Reuters] – On Tuesday, Minneapolis teachers and teacher aides protested in front of public schools. This was the first day for a strike by their unions after they failed to agree with the state’s largest district about a new labor contract.

Minneapolis Public Schools had to cancel 31,000 classes on Tuesday because of the work stoppage. This was three weeks after the unions representing 4,500 teachers in the city and educators support personnel authorized the action.

There are two camps that have issues: teacher aide salaries and union demands for lower class sizes and mental health support.

On Tuesday, hundreds of teachers marched to schools in the area waving picket signs as motorists passed.

“We’re here to make a difference. “We are taking back our schools, because our children deserve better, and our city deserves better,” Greta Calahan, President of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers said during a press conference.

Amanda Dobbs was a Minneapolis parent who has three children. She brought food and salt for the teachers that were walking along the picket lines in front of the school. It was quite mild for the early months of March with temperatures hovering at freezing.

Dobbs (42), said that teachers cannot be there for our children if they don’t have support. These teachers have been generous and given all they can.

They are seeking a reasonable wage for educational support staff, who make on average $24,000 annually. They want to see a reduction in the number of classrooms and more educators, counselors and social workers.

Unions stated that the surplus of $9 billion in Minnesota budget funds means the district is able to afford extra expenses.

Responding, the district stated that there is a $97.2million budget shortfall in its next fiscal year. This gap represents millions of dollars between what the union wants and what it can afford.

In a statement, the district stated that it will remain at the negotiation table to reduce the strike’s impact. Although classes will be cancelled indefinitely, it will offer packaged food to students starting Wednesday.