Labor

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Thousands of public school teachers rally Sept. 10, 2012, outside the Chicago Public Schools district headquarters on the first day of strike action over teachers' contracts in Chicago. For the first time in a quarter century, Chicago teachers walked out of the classroom, taking a bitter contract dispute over evaluations and job security to the streets of the nation's third-largest city — and to a national audience — less than a week after most schools opened for fall. (Associated Press)

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Chicago teachers walk a picket line outside Benjamin Banneker Elementary School in Chicago on Sept. 10, 2012, after they went on strike for the first time in 25 years. Union and district officials failed to reach a contract agreement despite intense weekend negotiations. (Associated Press)

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Rep. Paul Ryan, whose Wisconsin district is home to many auto workers, backed a government loan program for auto companies to develop more fuel-efficient cars. (Associated Press)

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Judy Smith of Dalton, Ga., looks over paperwork as she files for unemployment for the first time since being laid off from a catering job. Though the unemployment rate dropped to 8.1 percent in August, pushed down by 368,000 dropping out of the labor force, job growth remains subpar and will not be enough to put millions back to work. (Associated Press)

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Members of the Chicago Teachers Union distribute strike signage at the union’s strike headquarters on Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012, in Chicago. The union vowed to strike on Monday if there was still no agreement over teachers’ contracts with Chicago Public Schools by then. The uncertainty of whether there would be classes has left parents fuming. (Associated Press)

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In this Aug. 22, 2012, file photo, Scott Marshall, top, of Calhoun, Ga., files for unemployment, in Dalton, Ga. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

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A woman leaves an unemployment bureau in Athens on Thursday. The European Central Bank fleshed out plans for an “Outright Monetary Transactions” program that aims to help troubled European nations like Greece stave off another crisis. (Associated Press)