Members of the Chicago Teachers Union are walking off their jobs today (Friday, April 1), leaving more than 350,000 students in the lurch.

The union has been engaged in contract talks for the better part of a year, but negotiations are not going its way. CTU executives coaxed teachers into the one-day strike because they know shutting down the schools system inflicts real pain on real people. It’s also proven an effective strategy in dealings with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel; a seven-day walkout in 2012 resulted in 13 percent raises for teachers and Emanuel backing down from almost all his contract demands.