4:40 PM: Seattle Public Schools just announced in a message to families and staff that even though talks continue, it’s called off the scheduled start of classes tomorrow:

Seattle Public Schools will not start school as planned on Wednesday, Sept. 7, because of a planned work stoppage by Seattle Education Association (SEA).

Student meals will be provided at several school sites. Free sack lunches are available for all students and will be available for pick up from approximately 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. We are also reaching out to community childcare providers to help support our families. We expect after-school athletics will continue, even if there is a delay in the start of school. We will publish details about student meals, child care, and additional resources. Please visit our Family Resource webpage for locations and details.

Seattle Public Schools respects our educators and staff. We are optimistic the bargaining teams will come to a positive solution for students, staff, and families. Negotiations with SEA are ongoing. We are looking forward to beginning school and welcoming students and staff for the 2022-23 school year.

This announcement comes four and a half hours after the Seattle Education Association announced that its members had voted to authorize a strike if no deal was reached. It has not yet announced one, though.

4:58 PM: West Seattle sites for students to pick up meals 10 am-1 pm tomorrow are listed as:

Arbor Heights Elementary School: 3701 SW 104th St.
Boren K-Stem K8: 5950 Delridge Way SW
Concord Elementary School: 723 S. Concord St.
Denny Middle School: 2601 SW Kenyon St.
Highland Park Elementary School: 1012 SW Trenton St.
Madison Middle School: 3429 45th Ave. SW
Roxhill Elementary School: 7740 34th Ave. SW
Chief Sealth International High School: 2600 SW Thistle St.

(added) A note for those picking up at Chief Sealth IHS and Denny IMS – “We will be serving lunches off the back dock on the east side of both campuses. (Families/students) can drive through or walk and we will be back there from 10 am to 1 pm.”

5:38 PM: SEA is still rallying at district HQ. Speakers have included bargaining-team members who say talks are still under way right now, and union leadership just said that though the district has canceled classes for tomorrow, it’s not too late to avert a strike.

8:34 PM: No public updates since then on whether bargaining is still under way and/or whether SEA is officially striking. It would be the first SEA strike since 2015, which in turn was the first one since 1985.

12:17 AM: The strike is on, according to this announcement just received from SEA:

Educators want to be in the classrooms with their students and needs SPS to give those students the supports and adult attention they deserve. At this hour Seattle Public Schools has failed to agree to a contract that adequately staffs Special Education and Multilingual Learners, that limits caseloads and workloads so that each student gets adequate attention, and that provides pay that allows educators to live in the city where they work. The SEA Bargaining Team is continuing to work at this hour and SEA calls on SPS to share our urgency and reach a contract agreement that brings us back to classrooms as fast as possible. The 6,000 office professionals, paraprofessionals, and certificated teaching staff united in SEA will strike beginning Wednesday morning for a contract that meets student needs.

The announcement says picketing will start at schools at 7:30 am today and continue daily until 3:30 pm “until SEA members ratify a tentative agreement.”

8:30 AM: Picketing has begun. We’ve been to three West Seattle schools so far and will be heading back to others. At Sanislo Elementary, we talked with SEA president Jennifer Matter, who says bargaining resumed at 3 am and continues this morning. Separate story to come.

12:07 PM: The Seattle Education Association has just announced that its members have voted to authorize a strike if no agreement is reached by tomorrow. The union says 75 percent of its 6,000 members voted, and that 95 percent of them voted to authorize a strike, But contract talks are still under way right now, they stress, so a strike is not yet a sure thing. Updates to come as their briefing continues.

12:10 PM: A member of the bargaining team joined the briefing for a moment to say, “We’re prepared to stay all night if that’s what it takes.” Union leaders did not take questions and ended the briefing after less than 10 minutes, noting again that they’re planning a rally at district HQ at 4:30 pm. The SEA contract expired August 31st. Tomorrow is the first scheduled day of classes for most Seattle Public Schools students.

1:26 PM: So far no word from either side so far on any kind of cutoff time for a decision on what happens tomorrow. We will of course update as soon as we hear anything.

4:42 PM: The district has announced no school tomorrow, though talks are continuing. We’re updating separately here.