Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel spoke out on the Chicago Teachers Union strike authorization vote Tuesday. That’s after 90 percent of CTU members voted to authorize a strike. State law requires 75 percent of the union to vote yes in order to provide strike authorization.

Emanuel admitted the 90 percent is a big number.

“It’s a huge number as is the big number is the shortest school day and the shortest school year of any major city in the country,” he said. “We’re gonna make sure that all parties, both our teachers and our kids, are lifted up.”

Emanuel says the CTU and the Chicago Public School system should stay focused on reaching a partnership.

Union leaders have said they want to negotiate working conditions such as class size.