OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Teachers in Oakland, California, prepared for another day of strikes Friday after parents and students applauded their demands by keeping city classrooms empty.

Oakland’s 3,000 teachers went on strike Thursday over pay, class sizes and other issues, holding a boisterous rally at City Hall, marching through downtown streets and picketing outside the city’s 86 schools.

Union and district officials return Friday morning to the negotiating table.

The teachers are asking for a 12 percent retroactive raise covering 2017 to 2020 to compensate for what they say are among the lowest salaries for public school teachers in the expensive San Francisco Bay Area.

Local celebrities like MC Hammer, Stephen Curry and Oscar winner Mahershala Ali showed support in a video to say they “stand with Oakland teachers.”

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